Is there a future doctor in your house?

Encouraging our children to follow their dreams is one of the most valuable ways we can be effective parents. One of my daughters was planning to be a medical doctor for a while, she was very excited and in my excitement, I made a few fatal mistakes:

I announced it on Facebook, telling everyone in our family and circle of friends that she was planning to become a doctor. Like any 15 yr old girl really wants to be locked into a lifelong career choice? She can't even decide what color hair she wants, why would I latch onto a career decision?  It would have been smarter for me to buy her a set of medical scrubs so she could just get used to the way it felt to look and dress like a medical person, right?  Even just getting her a nursing uniform for a halloween costume would have been more effective. The scrub store has lab coats and kid sized scrubs, too- so I'm thinking it might have been wiser to allow her to embrace the decision instead of turning it into a high-pressure thing. Oh well, live and learn. I'm sure by the time our youngest is this age we'll have it all figured out, right?

Studying Hawaii

If you're working with the group of kids who are planning a trip to Hawaii, then you might be interested in these unit study resources;

*The Hawaii Tourism Authority 1801 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96814, (808) 943-3500. They also have a website. You can contact them for travel brochures and to book group tours, if you choose. When you arrive, stop in and sign the guest book.


*Hawaii foreclosures are down, so real estate there is starting to move up again. If you plan to invest in a timeshare or vacation house, now is the time to get started with that research


*Plan fun activities. There are a million free and cheap things to do in Hawaii. All you have to do is research and be open-minded. And don't forget to visit Pearl Harbor.