Helping your child pack and subsequently move into college can be a huge ordeal. The whole process is typically very stressful, and that’s coming from the teen perspective. Here are a few tips to make the process run as smoothly as possible:

• Make checklists and keep questions to a minimum. Start a checklist at least a week before your child heads off to college. Many colleges actually provide checklists that you can use as a basic template. This checklist can constantly be edited. You might want to make some additions, but your child can also chose to eliminate items he…
  
  

As you can see, this is the third episode in an epic saga.  For all you Twilight freaks/aficionados, I was actually referring to my series of articles about vacationing with grandparents, not your beloved book/movie series.  My first volume is essentially where I established my creditability on this subject by listing my numerous travels with grandparents and in Volume Two, I spoke of the three major problems seen traveling with grandparents.  Below, I’m going to list a few cures for these three problems, commonly seen vacationing with grandparents.

• The first problem I listed was not listening, specifically to the adults…
  
  

As far back as I can remember, every year I went somewhere on a vacation with my grandparents.  I have always felt that I am exponentially lucky to have grandparents who are willing to take me on such vacations every year out of their own will and pocket.  I did not know that this is a trend becoming more and more popular, but now that I know this, I am going to provide my thoughts on it.

First of all, I am going to provide a little history on my vacationing with grandparents, as this will tie into a few…

It’s the fourth week of summer vacation, and the kids are enjoying the leisurely pace.  There’s no reason to rush through the morning routine and no need to keep a strict handle on bedtimes.  With no homework and no school, each day finds its own rhythm, typically with a combination of hanging out with friends, some screen time, swimming, and general lazing.  However, there is one mandatory element to all weekdays: DEAR time.

For those who are unsure as to what DEAR is, it simply is Drop Everything And Read.  While reading tends to be a habit of our children,…

The summer can be a rather long and boring time for some families, because, no matter whether the kids will admit it or not, without school, they get very bored.  There are some methods to handle summer boredom, but many will empty your bank account.  I have some ideas for summer fun that can help take care of bored kids on a budget.

• Go hiking.  Hiking in almost all places places is free, except for some parks.  The best part about hiking is that there’s such a wide range of hiking trails that you can find one suitable for everybody….