Mama needs a new car but she doesn't have enough money and her credit is bad. What does she do? She uses her child's social security number to establish herself a new line of credit. Sound far-fetched? Actually, it isn't.
Child identity theft is on the rise and it could affect your grandchild. According to Researcher Richard Power, children make perfect targets because they have no records and the crime usually isn't discovered until they become an adult.
Among the 4,311 children found to have distressed identity records, 300 were under five-years-old years old. Nearly 1,800 cases involved utility service records, such as bogus electricity service accounts. There were also 500 kids’ names attached to mortgages or foreclosures, and 415 of the kids had driver's licenses.
Among the more serious cases: a 16-year-old girl in Arizona with 33 credit accounts linked to her name, including three mortgages.
How does this happen? According to the report, the primary reasons for child identity theft are illegal immigration (e.g., to obtain false IDs for employment), organized crime (e.g., to engage in financial fraud) and friends and family (e.g., to circumvent bad credit ratings, etc.), the report says. And, more often than not, it is someone the child knows.
To learn more about how to protect your child or grandchild from identity theft, read this great article from CreditCards.com: Child ID Theft
Friday, April 01, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Four Letter Words Aren't Always Bad
At some point every child hears and eventually says their first "four letter" word. That happened this evening at choir pratice.
My grandson and the other members of the Cherubs Choir were singing the song, "Hail Jesus You're My King" and when the music stopped, one little girl politely announced to the choir director that she wasn't allowed to sing the song because it had a bad word in it. To her, "hail" sounded like that other four-letter word we all know as h-e-l-l. At that point, the choir director proceeded to explain the difference and then thanked the parents for teaching children not to say those four-letter bad words.
No doubt, our children and grandchildren are going to be exposed to bad words at some point in their lives. We as parents and grandparents must explain to them that even though they may hear other people using profanity that we expect them to behave better than that and that it is not acceptable.
It is also important that your children never hear you use profanity. Our children learn most from the example we give them. If they hear you using "four letter" words it is only a matter of time until they start using them as well. After explaining that it is not acceptable for them to use profanity you need to go on to explain why. It will further reinforce that they should not be swearing once they understand that words can hurt people just like hitting or kicking.
This little girl did the right thing at choir rehearsal and we all are better for it.
My grandson and the other members of the Cherubs Choir were singing the song, "Hail Jesus You're My King" and when the music stopped, one little girl politely announced to the choir director that she wasn't allowed to sing the song because it had a bad word in it. To her, "hail" sounded like that other four-letter word we all know as h-e-l-l. At that point, the choir director proceeded to explain the difference and then thanked the parents for teaching children not to say those four-letter bad words.
No doubt, our children and grandchildren are going to be exposed to bad words at some point in their lives. We as parents and grandparents must explain to them that even though they may hear other people using profanity that we expect them to behave better than that and that it is not acceptable.
It is also important that your children never hear you use profanity. Our children learn most from the example we give them. If they hear you using "four letter" words it is only a matter of time until they start using them as well. After explaining that it is not acceptable for them to use profanity you need to go on to explain why. It will further reinforce that they should not be swearing once they understand that words can hurt people just like hitting or kicking.
This little girl did the right thing at choir rehearsal and we all are better for it.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Talking to Grandchildren About Death
My four-year-old grandson's father is dead. As a matter of fact, he never got to know his father because he was murdered prior to his birth.
Up until now, his mother and I have chosen not to discuss this tragedy but lately, this little boy's inquiring mind has been wanting to understand more about what life and death is all about.
Long before we realize it, children become aware of death. They see dead birds, insects, and animals lying by the road. They may see death at least once a day on television.
Meanwhile, we, as adults, do our best to shield our children from the sting of death. Many of us are inclined not to talk about things that upset us. We try to put a lid on our feelings and hope that saying nothing will be for the best. But not talking about something doesn't mean we aren't communicating. Children are great observers. They read messages on our faces. We express ourselves by what we do, by what we say, and by what we do not say.
Primary care physician Dr. Claire McCarthy says, "No matter the circumstances, teaching children about death is hard. We don’t want childhood to be sad, so we don’t like to talk about death."
In my grandson's case, I chose to tell him his dad has gone to be with Jesus. His response was "Can I go live with them?"
My reply: "Jesus will send for you when you're finished helping him out here--and that will be a long time from now."
How would you have responded?
Up until now, his mother and I have chosen not to discuss this tragedy but lately, this little boy's inquiring mind has been wanting to understand more about what life and death is all about.
Long before we realize it, children become aware of death. They see dead birds, insects, and animals lying by the road. They may see death at least once a day on television.
Meanwhile, we, as adults, do our best to shield our children from the sting of death. Many of us are inclined not to talk about things that upset us. We try to put a lid on our feelings and hope that saying nothing will be for the best. But not talking about something doesn't mean we aren't communicating. Children are great observers. They read messages on our faces. We express ourselves by what we do, by what we say, and by what we do not say.
Primary care physician Dr. Claire McCarthy says, "No matter the circumstances, teaching children about death is hard. We don’t want childhood to be sad, so we don’t like to talk about death."
In my grandson's case, I chose to tell him his dad has gone to be with Jesus. His response was "Can I go live with them?"
My reply: "Jesus will send for you when you're finished helping him out here--and that will be a long time from now."
How would you have responded?
Friday, February 25, 2011
Grandma's Little James Brown
Children are like sponges, soaking up all information they can get. They learn from watching their parents, grandparents, from daycare and school and even from listening to music.
Earlier this week, I picked up my four-year-old grandson from daycare and proceeded to go to the bank. As we were riding along, I had James Brown's song, Say It Loud I'm Black and I'm Proud, blasting on my CD player. I'm cruising along--- singing---and, all of a sudden, Jarod decides to chime in.
Mind you, Jarod has never seen James Brown before or heard any of his music before this day so you can imagine my total surprise when we walked into the bank and he starts dancing and singing VERY LOUDLY, "Say it loud I'm black and I'm proud..." . Fortunately, there weren't many people in the bank and no one could see my face turning red. I immediately explained that we had been listening to the song in the car and weren't coming into the bank to start a revolution.
I then softly told Jarod that he needed to have his quiet voice on when we were in the bank. Do you know what he did? He whispered as loud as he could, "Say it loud I'm black and I'm proud!"
I haven't had a conversation with him yet to see if he really understands what that song means or was he just singing it because grandma was. Althought I saw this as one of our funniest moments together, I also hope he will hold those words in his heart with a sense of pride in who he is.
Certainly, being a black male in this society will be a conversation that must be addressed.
Earlier this week, I picked up my four-year-old grandson from daycare and proceeded to go to the bank. As we were riding along, I had James Brown's song, Say It Loud I'm Black and I'm Proud, blasting on my CD player. I'm cruising along--- singing---and, all of a sudden, Jarod decides to chime in.
Mind you, Jarod has never seen James Brown before or heard any of his music before this day so you can imagine my total surprise when we walked into the bank and he starts dancing and singing VERY LOUDLY, "Say it loud I'm black and I'm proud..." . Fortunately, there weren't many people in the bank and no one could see my face turning red. I immediately explained that we had been listening to the song in the car and weren't coming into the bank to start a revolution.
I then softly told Jarod that he needed to have his quiet voice on when we were in the bank. Do you know what he did? He whispered as loud as he could, "Say it loud I'm black and I'm proud!"
I haven't had a conversation with him yet to see if he really understands what that song means or was he just singing it because grandma was. Althought I saw this as one of our funniest moments together, I also hope he will hold those words in his heart with a sense of pride in who he is.
Certainly, being a black male in this society will be a conversation that must be addressed.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Grandma's Valentine
On Valentine's Day I received an unexpected---but pleasant surprise when the Producer of NBC's My Carolina Today called to ask me to fill-in as a co-host. One of their anchors had called in sick and they thought of me. They needed me at the studio in less than three hours to tape the show, which was scheduled to air later in the week. At the time I was passing out chocolates to parents at a local school.
Of course, I made it to the set, taped the show, took plenty of pictures and returned home. The next day I received the most wonderful belated Valentine's Day gift of all when my four-year-old grandson looked at the pictures I posted on my Facebook page and said, "Look grandma, there's Oprah!" He was pointing at me.
Gotta love him!
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Are Grandparents Going Overboard with Their Grandchildren
A survey conducted last year by BeGrand.net revealed that 81% of grandparents thought their grandchildren are more spoiled than they were. And they say it’s not just money, it’s far more than that.
As a grandmother myself, I say that's true and the sad thing is, I think spoiling my grandson at this stage may do him more harm than good down the road.
For example, I still iron because I like to iron and I like the way nicely pressed clothes look beyond permanent press. My grandson has gotten accustomed to having his clothes ironed. He now thinks everything he wears should be ironed, including his undershirts and boxers. That's something my mother used to do for my father but I ain't my mother.
Another thing is the fact that he has to have his strawberries and blueberries prepared in a certain way. The strawberries must be cut into halves with the blueberries on top, sprinkled with sugar.
He is also into the "preppy look." Now, I am not going to take 100 percent of the blame for this because his mother has a hand in his clothes shopping but between the two of us, we have given him a "Dapper Dan" complex.
I think there are many parents and grandparents who go above and beyond what is necessary to keep their children happy. The truth is, if a child grows accustomed to having it their way and being pampered all the time, then it stops being special treatment and becomes the "norm". To get them to appreciate what you do for them, you need to find a way to make them see how much effort you put in.
The best case scenerio, in my grandson's case, is that he will grow up and learn to do these things for himself---without relying on someone else to do them for him. He will also learn to appreciate how hard his grandma had to work to do those "special" things for him---and that's one lesson I definitely don't mind teaching.
As a grandmother myself, I say that's true and the sad thing is, I think spoiling my grandson at this stage may do him more harm than good down the road.
For example, I still iron because I like to iron and I like the way nicely pressed clothes look beyond permanent press. My grandson has gotten accustomed to having his clothes ironed. He now thinks everything he wears should be ironed, including his undershirts and boxers. That's something my mother used to do for my father but I ain't my mother.
Another thing is the fact that he has to have his strawberries and blueberries prepared in a certain way. The strawberries must be cut into halves with the blueberries on top, sprinkled with sugar.
He is also into the "preppy look." Now, I am not going to take 100 percent of the blame for this because his mother has a hand in his clothes shopping but between the two of us, we have given him a "Dapper Dan" complex.
I think there are many parents and grandparents who go above and beyond what is necessary to keep their children happy. The truth is, if a child grows accustomed to having it their way and being pampered all the time, then it stops being special treatment and becomes the "norm". To get them to appreciate what you do for them, you need to find a way to make them see how much effort you put in.
The best case scenerio, in my grandson's case, is that he will grow up and learn to do these things for himself---without relying on someone else to do them for him. He will also learn to appreciate how hard his grandma had to work to do those "special" things for him---and that's one lesson I definitely don't mind teaching.
Friday, February 04, 2011
Grandma's Pregnant
My four-year-old grandson has become my new personal trainer. He is my biggest motivator and inspiration when it comes to my efforts to get rid of my middle age spread.
For the past several days he has come up to me, leaned his head on my stomach and asked, "Grandma, do you have a baby in your belly?" Now, you and I both know no adult would have the nerve to say that--but my grandson's inquiring mind wants to know based on the evidence he thinks he sees.
No, he has no concept of what it means to fight the battle of the bulge. He only equates pudge with pregnancy so I guess that means I must go ahead and give birth---and try to do it in less than nine months!
In the meantime, please enjoy this video I created a few years ago after I wrote my first book: Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age.
For the past several days he has come up to me, leaned his head on my stomach and asked, "Grandma, do you have a baby in your belly?" Now, you and I both know no adult would have the nerve to say that--but my grandson's inquiring mind wants to know based on the evidence he thinks he sees.
No, he has no concept of what it means to fight the battle of the bulge. He only equates pudge with pregnancy so I guess that means I must go ahead and give birth---and try to do it in less than nine months!
In the meantime, please enjoy this video I created a few years ago after I wrote my first book: Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age.
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