Chikezirim Anyanwu

Atlanta is the most populous city in the state of Georgia in the United States, with a population estimated to be over five million. Considering the population of Atlanta, there’s a niche for everyone waiting to be carved out. Before you and your child can successfully start a business in Atlanta, you will have to make him understand that starting a business will not be as easy as eating a cookie, there are quite a number of things that you both have to put into consideration: 1. Your child’s education Georgia law requires and mandates that a child should be educated in either a public, private or even home school from the age of six to sixteen. See to it that your child’s desire to start a business does not interfere with or hinder him from getting an education within this stipulated age. 2. Teach your child to write a business plan In order for your child to be successful in business, you have to teach him what goes into writing a business plan and they include: See to it that you make your child understand that a business plan is not judged by its volume but by its content. So he should as much as possible keep it short and concise. Just like every other kind of writing, teach your child that it is essential while writing a business plan that he knows and understands his audience. Make sure he learns to speak in a language that will be understood by his audience. For instance, if your child is a techie, and is presenting a business plan to people who happen not to be in the field, it is not advisable for him to bombard them with tech terminologies hoping to impress them because he will end up confusing them. Teach your child to be confident among his competitors, make sure he understands that no one knows everything that there is to know about the business world. Teach your child that in the long run, he will come to realize that most of his competitors just like him are learning as they go. Teach him the major components a business plan must contain which include: I. Executive summary This is a comprehensive overview of your business and plans. It is usually contained in the first two pages of the business plan. II. Opportunity This part of a business plan answers the following questions; what problem does the product you planning to sell solve? Do you have competition? Who is your target market? If your business plan can successfully and intelligently answer these questions then you are one step closer to helping your child start his own business. III. Execution A business plan is only an idea written on a piece of paper if in the business plan there is no step dedicated to how to lay the tracks on which the business will glide through. This is where you come in as a parent. A child may have a [...]

The history of commerce in Ghana is one that has lasted for centuries, it first began in began in 1482, when the first Portuguese settlers disembarked and began trading in gold, ivory, and timber. With such a long history in commerce and a current population of over twenty-eight million people, it should not come as a surprise to you that your child who was born in that environment wants to start his own business at such an early stage. As parents, we owe a duty to our kids to support their positive endeavors to the best of our ability. Starting a new business even as an adult is a very daunting task to accomplish. I believe teaching your child to be an entrepreneur is one of the best gifts you can give to him as a parent. Nevertheless, there are quite a number of things you need to have in mind while helping your child start his business: 1. Your child’s education Ghanaians hold education in high esteem, trust me pulling your child out of school is not a good idea. Since most of the schools that offer formal education only do so from eight to two, you may have to make special arrangements with your child’s school although the school curriculum can be a little rigid. 2. Discover your child’s interest Aside money, having a genuine interest in a particular business has been a driving force for many successful businessmen and women, the same applies to kids. Sometimes kids start stuff they expect to be fun but get bored mid-way and abandon it. Starting a small “kid business” for your child in Ghana is not going to cost you a kidney, so there is room for a few trial and errors until your child stumbles on one he likes and can run on his own. 3. Teach your child to write a business plan Writing a good business plan is a skill every good businessman must have. Teaching your child to write a business plan will not just help him in starting his “kid business” but will help him in starting future businesses. Here are a few things that go into writing a business plan: Make sure your child understands that a business plan doesn’t necessarily have to be voluminous; a good business plan is known by its content. So he should as much as possible keep it short and concise. As is obtainable in all other kinds of writing, teach your child how essential it is to understand his audience. Make sure he learns to speak in a language that will be understood by his audience. Teach your child to be confident among his competitors, make sure he understands that no one knows everything that there is to know about the business world. Teach your child that in the long run, he will come to realize that most of his competitors just like him are learning as they go. Major Components a Business Plan Must Contain 1. Executive [...]

The worry of every parent whose child uses the internet is the constant fear that they might be exposed to all the inappropriate content that seems to be all over the internet. The internet, I like to think, is a necessary evil; you can’t completely control its overwhelming effect and influence on your kids and you cannot also cut them off it completely because they need it for school. Therefore, it is important you teach your kids how to effectively use the internet without getting themselves into trouble. 1. Let your kids know they are under no duty to please everyone Let your kids know that there are people on the internet whose only intention is to exploit them, make sure you bring to their understanding that they are not under a duty to please or cave in to the requests of each and every person they meet on the internet, from the one asking them to send inappropriate photos to the ones asking for their personal information. 2. Teach your kids to be kind to other kids online Most times, parents are too worried about teaching their kids how not to get bullied both offline and online that they forget to teach their kids not to be the bullies. I believe, as a parent, that it’s time to flip the script and teach our kids not to bully other kids. The hunger for “online savagery” is driving a lot of teens to say and post a whole lot of mean things to their peers online. For some, it’s for the sole purpose of getting followers, likes and retweets. Let them know that in the real world, those likes and followers do not make them any better than the kid they’re bullying. 3. Be sure you protect them from identity theft Most parents do not bother themselves about their children’s identity being stolen, because they are of the belief that they are too young to be victims of a cyber crime. Therefore, they do not put measures in place to keep their children’s identity safe. Identity thieves these days target unused social security numbers usually owned by teens to perform all kinds of illegal transactions from opening a credit card account to purchasing a car. To prevent this from happening, the first step you have to take as a parent is to instruct your teen on what kind of information to keep private and not disclose on websites (including online stores) and on social media. Investing in an identity protection program would be a good idea and ensure you add your children to the policy. 4. Prevent accidental virus downloading Teach your children not to click or download the “too good to be true ads” that are all over the web, offering free stuff here and there. Explain to them that clicking or downloading those kind of stuff can infect the computer with a malware thereby rendering it useless. 5. Draw the line on what types of sites your kids [...]

Starting your own business even as an adult is a very daunting task to accomplish.  I believe teaching your child to be an entrepreneur is one of the best gifts you can give to him as a parent. Let me warn you, it is not going to be easy considering that your child has to go to school and there might be little or no time left for you to teach your child to be an entrepreneur.  Compounded with the fact that the school system is put together in such a way that it requires your child to do so much homework when he gets home from school and by the time he is done with that there’s just a little time left for you to connect with your child before you send him straight to bed so he can wake up the next morning to continue the same old process. Need I remind you, that the financial independence majority of people enjoy is from being their own boss, from running successful businesses. Getting back to the school system, I hate to break it to you that you are probably paying through your nose for your child to go to the best school you can afford which is basically designed to get your child to follow rather than lead. Putting into consideration the fact that in the first 18 years of our kids’ lives, they are trained to do nothing that points them towards starting their own business, they are trained to wait until they finish grade school, high school, college or university as the case may be and are then trained to make sure their resume is done well as they wait in line to get jobs. Once they get a job, then they compete with others and wait for promotion and salary increase. You may find this a little funny, but your child goes to school for eighteen years and comes out with no defined skill whatsoever and is expected to be consoled with a half empty, larger than usual font resume. Having highlighted what and where most of us have gone wrong as parents. It is important you always remember that our jobs as parents are to care for our kids and, to the best of our ability, give to them the best we can afford in order assure their future. At the risk of what I am about to suggest coming off as unconventional, I believe we as parents should step up our game and teach our kids to be bosses and not live from cheque to cheque after spending a tremendous number of their youthful years learning to be employees. The first step to fixing this anomaly is for us parents to ask ourselves this very pertinent question that has generated the same answer from at least eighty percent of the parents I have come in contact with. “Would you rather have your child grow up into an adult who works for a cooperation and [...]

Compared to most cities in Africa, Abuja is pretty young. Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria located in the center of Nigeria known as the Federal Capital Territory. With a population of almost eight hundred thousand people, Abuja boasts of an organized and serene environment that is conducive for business. Here are a few things you have to look out for while helping your child start his business in Abuja: 1.     Government education policy Nigerian law requires parents and guardians to ensure their children and wards receive at least nine years of basic formal education. Failure to do so may result in sanctions; you may have to as a parent discuss and agree with his school on how best your child can combine education and business. 2.     Your child’s interest Before helping your child start a business, you have to ensure your child possesses a fusion between genuine love and interest in the business he wants to get involved with. Most often than not, when children start something they expect to be fun and it turns out to be the opposite, they get bored and abandon it. Abuja is a pretty expensive place to start up a business in, so make sure your child is willing to go the full nine yards before making any financial commitments. 3.     Help your child conduct a business survey Abuja is one of the safest cities in Nigeria with a very favorable weather condition and good amenities; this has brought about a twenty five percent increase in the population of Abuja. Abuja like every city in Nigeria consists of different social classes, being the seat of power; you will find politicians, working class people in both the public and private sector etc. If your child has decided what business he wants to start, you will have to assist your child to understand how the market works and how many other businesses he might have to contend with. 4.     Help your child write a business plan One of the most important skills any business man or woman should possess is how to put together his ideas in a marketable fashion. Teaching your child to write a business plan will not just help him in starting his “kid business” but will help him in starting future businesses. Here are a few things that goes into writing a business plan: The key to writing a good business plan is in-depth research of the goods or services you are planning to bring into the market. Teach your child to effectively use the internet in carrying out research. Teach your child that it’s his responsibility to know everything there is to know about his business and the industry that he’s entering. A business plan should contain information regarding the purpose and nature of the business. It should also contain a marketing strategy. A business plan must explain what kind of goods or services your child plans to sell, what problems the goods or services are supposed to solve [...]

It can be a little difficult as a parent to teach your kids skills which they require in their day to day activities. You sometimes need your kids to be a little bit more independent, to allow you to attend to other pressing matters. When it comes to kids being independent, while some kids crave freedom and independence from a young age, others need a little push to become confident and self-motivated. While teaching your kids to be independent, allow for plenty of practice time and try different methods of teaching certain skills. Make out time from your busy schedule to give extra time to practice new skills. Getting your kids to be independent does not just happen by magic or on its own, it comes from you instructing and supervising your kids to do some very little stuff for themselves, like brushing their teeth themselves, eating breakfast by themselves or even helping out with packing their own lunch. When your children begin to get independent, it makes things easier for you as a parent. Here a few skills they need to learn while still under your roof: 1. Let Your Kids Handle Some Simple Chores Around the House Assigning to your kids, chores that they can handle completely by themselves helps a great deal in giving them the self-confidence for which they require to be independent now and in the future. Chores like wiping tables, feeding the pet, tidying their bedrooms and washing their hands. You should realize that the older your kids get, the more independent and responsible you should expect them to become. So as they get older, assign more responsibility to them in the domestic front. 2. Teach Your Kids Effective Decision Making By letting your kids handle stuff by themselves, they learn to identify problems and in solving them, they learn to make decisions. This will help them develop rational thinking skills. Encourage your kids to listen to their instincts and to give a thought to the wide range of possible outcomes that may arise from their actions. 3. Let Your Kids Learn to Make Money Your kids learning to make money will go a long way to help them become independent adults. It is never too early to teach your kids that they can put themselves to work in their spare time. Depending on how old your kids are, there are quite a number of businesses they can get themselves involved in, some of which include: i. Dog Walking Busy people need help keeping their dogs fit, and this is a job most kids can handle and have fun while at it. Your child can make some money walking dogs for other adults who do not have the time to walk their dogs. They may as they get older decide to expand to pet washing. ii. Social Media Handlers most teenagers tend to have more experience as concerns social media than the average adult, they may as well offer their services to these adults as [...]

Adolescents have been notoriously famous to put their parents and caregivers through stress and sometimes grief. So as a parent you should know and understand that you are not alone in this ordeal and that this is a normal and healthy phase your child needs to pass through to become a competent and responsible adult who can solve their own problems. Parenting an adolescent can be difficult considering there is a very thin line between your child going through the usual adolescence phase of seeking independence and being absolutely rebellious, openly insolent and defiant and most often than not outright refusal to do household chores, in which case you need to seek professional help. Parenting a teenager sometimes require you to do some fine tuning your own attitude as a parent. Here are a couple of ways to keep your teen’s unpleasant habits in check: 1. Expect your teen to disagree with you It should not come to you as a surprise when your teen holds his own opinion and view about a particular thing no matter how off and dumb it may sound, also expect some arguments when you bring up issues which affects you both but which your teen sees as trivial. Explain to him how it affects the both of you and ensure you explain to him with love. 2. Stay calm and calculated; do not let your teen manipulate you Some teenagers appear to derive pleasure in making their parents and caregivers mad. In some cases, this might be your teen trying to get your attention and connect with you on a deeper level. Just like every other child, your teenager needs to know and understand that he can trust you to stay strong. They need to understand that you will continue to love them no matter the kind of grief their youthful exorbitance causes you. It is important you apply whatever technique you may need to stay calm, like breathing techniques, taking a walk in nature or even giving yourself some alone time. When interacting with your teen, be mindful of what you say especially on an occasion where he has succeeded in getting you angry. 3. Stay connected with your teen Be sure to make out time on a daily basis to give your teen the attention he requires; during this time do your best to adequately interact with him. Find an activity that you both enjoy and make a weekly ritual out of it like walking the dog, taking an exercise class together or even going out for ice cream. They might complain about this at first, but as time goes on they’ll realize how fun it is and get into the game. 4. Do not be judgmental One of the major reasons why being a teenager may be difficult is that, unlike children, teenagers are aware of what other people think of them and are affected by it. 5. Humor your teen while empathizing with his predicaments Being a teenager can at [...]

As a parent it’s never too early to begin asking your kids what they want to become in the future, this, in fact, is one of the easiest conversations to have with your child. If you are a parent of a primary or junior school student, or even one in the early years of high school, your child's career choice is probably the farthest thing from your mind. At this point in his or her life, you and your child are probably more concerned with grades, friends and other things they may be up to at the time. Sometimes, children get to their teenage years and are still not yet ready to settle on a career choice, it is beneficial for children to begin thinking about all the options available and what goes into choosing a career. Knowing the correct way to do it can help young children and even teenagers avoid getting confused with all the career planning myths that could lead them in the wrong direction. Why Career Exploration Is A Big Deal Most Children are only aware of a small number of occupations to which they are exposed, for example: doctor, lawyer, teacher, engineer, etc. The occupation of their parents and relatives go a long way to influence the career choice of these growing minds, therefore it is crucial to teach children about other occupations in order to broaden their choices and increase their chances of finding careers that are suitable. As they get closer to preparing for them, they can narrow down their choices and even begin to take related courses once they are in high school. How You Can Assist Your Child With Career Exploration 1. Encourage them to read about different career fields; they can get information about every career imaginable online. When a child expresses interest in any occupation, encourage him or her to research it to learn more about it. 2. Urge your child to talk to people in different occupations. Provide opportunity for them to ask people about their jobs, and what kind of training is required for them to be involved in the occupation. 3. When your child expresses an interest in learning about a particular career, be sure to find someone who can talk to them about it. 4. Help your child learn more about themselves. When children get into late high school years, they should do a self-assessment to discover their interests, and find out what they are good at, although there is a very high chance that they have already discovered that in their earlier years. 5. The self-assessment may involve them asking themselves critical questions and honestly answering them. A teenager choosing a career path should have already known what he or she loves to do. Therefore all they need to do at that point is figure out how to make a living, doing what they love. Educate Yourself It is not uncommon for your child to express interest in a career you think is wrong for [...]

The Role Of Parents Parents should be part of the whole process; some parents still think their children must take up what they studied. This is old-fashioned and parents should give their children a chance to explore any field as long as it promises a good future. Parents can tell at a young age what a child’s interests are, and can contribute to the long-term career choices early by providing the right environment in form of play and reading materials. Children learn through playing, so it is better for them to discover their own interests through this means. Support them when they show concentration in a specific field and also make sure to advise them never to follow things blindly. Be tolerant and don´t forget that you possibly went through the same before choosing a career. The Role of School School-age children spend a significant amount of their day in school, so it is no surprise that most of the characters they form, either good or bad, are influenced by what they see and hear in school. Having emphasized the influencing ability of the school, it is important you know the roles a school can play in helping your child choose a befitting career. Parents are advised to enroll their kids in a high school with a functional and proactive guidance counseling department, bearing in mind that this department does the most work as regards providing career education to your child. The Role Of Teachers Teachers have the responsibility to guide students on what exactly is going on in real life. They do this by referring to the subjects where they perform better and what they like more. Teachers should advise students to settle for what they are good at, and not necessarily what their colleagues are studying at the university. Role Of a School Counselor School counselors are an important part of the school staff as they provide valuable assistance to students regardless of whether they work in an elementary school or middle school, high school or beyond. Here are a few things to know about school counselors: 1. It is important I state that as a parent you have a role to play in understanding your child’s interests, abilities, and limitations. The role of the school counselor does not diminish the duty you owe your child to discuss his future with him. A school guidance counselor is no doubt a key resource. Many times a student will open up and actually talk to someone other than their parent. So, as a parent, getting to know and work with your child’s school guidance counselor is in your best interest. 2. Counselors have quite a number of tools they can use to assist students in understanding their career interests, they use a self-assessment tool that helps to gauge the student’s likes and dislikes of a variety of activities, objects, and types of persons on the premise that people in the same career have very similar interests. Working through these self-assessment [...]

Waking in the middle of the night to change your child's sheets after a bed-wetting episode is practically not a new thing to parents; it's more common than you think. Research has proven that twice as many boys wet their beds as girls. Bed-wetting among children may seem normal at first, but at some point parents may begin to worry about it. Bed-wetting can be an embarrassing situation among kids, but it is actually a very common experience. Research has proven that quite a percentage of children still bed wet after the age of five. This should be no cause for alarm because most children eventually outgrow this phase. Why Your Child Bed Wets Bed-wetting is literally the hidden problem of childhood. Unlike asthma or allergies, most parents would rather not talk about it outside the house. The secrecy that revolves around bed-wetting makes the situation more difficult for the child and 90% of children think they're the only ones who wet the bed. The situation can get difficult for both parent and child; frustrated parents sometimes conclude a child is wetting the bed out of laziness; this is only but a myth. For some children, bed-wetting may be an inevitable part of the growing process and therefore it doesn't have to be traumatic. Understanding the causes of bed-wetting is the first step to dealing with this rampant childhood problem. There's no one single cause of bed-wetting, it is inherited for the most part. Research has shown that for three out of four children, either a parent or a first-degree relative also wet the bed in childhood. Science has even located some of the specific genes that lead to delayed nighttime bladder control in chromosomes. It would be nice if most parents who had the same problem communicate it to their children, this will help the child understand that he or she is not alone and it is not their fault. Steps To Ensure Your Child Stays Dry Through The Night 1. Talk to them about it Getting angry at your child and giving him a tough time for wetting the bed will only make the problem worse. It may be tough at first to stop a child from wetting the bed, and you shouldn't worry about it unless he is embarrassed by it and asks you for help. Most often than not, when parents do not talk about bed-wetting with their little ones, they begin to think that the issue is peculiar to them alone. Reassure your child that they are not alone and it is not an abnormal occurrence for a child their age. 2. Ensure they ease themselves before bedtime When children empty their bladder before bedtime, there's a lesser chance of them bed-wetting. Although this technique may not cure bed-wetting, it can be an effective means to keep the bed dry through the night. Most pediatricians suggest you should limit your child’s fluid intake a few hours before bedtime. 3. Talk to your pediatrician Talking to [...]