Melissa Batai, Author at Kids Ain't Cheap

How We’re Handling Car Insurance for Our Teen College Student

February 15, 2024 | Leave a Comment

Our son didn’t start driving until he was 19. Since he started at a late age, we hoped his insurance wouldn’t be as expensive as if he had started driving at 16. Unfortunately, we were wrong; insuring an inexperienced driver costs a lot regardless of age. Here’s how we’re handling car insurance for our teen college student.

Should He Have His Insurance or Be Insured Under Ours?

Our first decision was if he should have his car insurance or be insured under our insurance. We already knew we wanted him to pay the car insurance. When the quotes came back, we knew we had to have him on our insurance. To put him on his insurance was almost four times as expensive as putting him on ours.

How Can We Protect Ourselves Financially?

Our next decision was how to protect ourselves financially if he had an accident. Since he’s under our insurance, if our son had an accident with another vehicle, the victims could sue us. So, we decided to get an umbrella policy. Without a teen driver, the umbrella policy was only $260 a year. Once we added our son to our insurance, our umbrella policy increased to $500 a year. However, this policy provides us with an additional $1 million in protection. Our insurance agent also assured us that if we were to get sued, the insurance company would put their lawyers on the case because they wouldn’t want to pay a million-dollar settlement.

Requirements for Umbrella Insurance

To qualify for umbrella insurance, we had to have our car premiums at a certain level. We could not have PL/PD on the 19-year-old vehicle our son drives. Fortunately, we already have insurance on all our cars and our home at the appropriate level.

Finding Discounts

In addition to putting our son on our insurance, we also looked for other discounts. We’re insured with State Farm, and they had several more discounts we could utilize:

Multiple Line

We got a multi-line discount on all our policies because we have several cars and our home insurance through State Farm.

Good Student

Our son maintains a 3.6 GPA at college, so he qualifies for a good student discount. Every semester, he must submit his report card to verify he’s maintaining his GPA.

Drive Safe and Save

He took advantage of this discount by downloading the app on his phone and installing a beacon in his car. This records data on how he drives, and he gets a discount for safe driving. (If the driver’s driving does not warrant a discount, they are not penalized. However, they don’t get the discount.)

In addition, State Farm had an online course that new drivers take to save even more. My son took that course.

Final Thoughts

Car insurance for a new teen driver is expensive. However, we’ve found a way to make it affordable thanks to putting our son on our insurance and utilizing multiple discounts. In addition, while we pay for the umbrella insurance, our son pays for his insurance, which incentivizes safe driving. And his policy will drop significantly once he gets through three years of driving with no accidents. Only two-and-a-half more years to go!

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Melissa Batai

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.

How To Teach a Child To Count Money

January 22, 2024 | Leave a Comment

Counting money is one of the most foundational skills children must learn. Counting and making change are critical skills that many entry-level jobs require. When you apply the following lessons on how to teach a child to count money, you challenge his or her mind to grow in other ways, too.

To give you a thorough array of options on teaching counting skills, I sought out advice from experienced educators and parents. Here are my findings.

How to Teach a Child to Count Money

Create a Play Store

Parents who have taught their children the basics of money said one of the best ways to do so was to set up a play store. Together with their child, they created a fake shop with household items or toys listed for sale. Use a sticky note to indicate the price of each item, then give your child change, and open the shop for business.

Depending on your child’s age, you can vary the degree of difficulty. For example, for a 3-year-old, you could say, “This costs one quarter,” and teach her to identify that coin. For older children, you can pay with a dollar bill and walk them through making change. Don’t forget to also teach them how to count change back to the “customer.”

Teach Them to Count by Fives and Tens

Photo by Katie Harp on Unsplash

“Kids need to have a good understanding of place value and number sense before they count money,” says a third-grade teacher with I spoke via Facebook. “Start with one coin, and teach them how to count it and how many it takes to make a dollar.”

She goes on to describe a great money game involving two dice. Give the child as many pennies as the number he or she rolled. Have the child then exchange it for the highest value possible.

For example, if the child rolls a ten he or she can trade in pennies for a dime.

In addition to teach your child how to count money, when you teach them to count by fives and tens, you’re teaching them the beginning stages of multiplication.

Let Them See Real Transactions

Many people have had great success with giving their children real world experience.

Here are several examples:

Earn Money Through Chores

Help them understand that “work = pay,” and help them count their earnings. If there’s something they want to buy, help them estimate the cost.

Lead by Example

Allow your child to watch you pay for something in cash. This will help him see how money works and how it requires lots of it to pay for his needs and wants.

Study the History of Real Money Together

Hand your child the coins you received in change that day and quiz her on some coin facts. Not only can learning to count money teach your children better math skills, but you can also create an impromptu history lesson. For example, did you know that the nickel used to be called a “half dime” up until 1883? Half dimes were made of silver which became scarce during the Civil War. After that, they were made of copper and nickel, and they finally were made and referred to entirely of nickel in the 1880s. Click here for more U.S. coin facts.

Final Thoughts

The overall theme of how to teach a child to count money is YOUR involvement. Set aside time to sit at the table and talk about how many nickels are in a quarter or how many pennies are in a dollar. Talk about how much money you earned at your first job or something you saved up for, like a bicycle. That will help your child apply what he or she has learned.

How did you learn to count money? In school? At home?

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Melissa Batai

What to Do When Your House Is Too Big for You?

December 7, 2023 | Leave a Comment

My husband and I moved last year from Arizona to New York. Our three kids were 18, 14, and 12. Unfortunately, we only had one week in New York to find a house before the move, which limited our choices. Our first two offers on other homes fell through, so we ended up with our third choice, a 2,040-square-foot, four-bedroom house. However, our oldest decided to move out of state for college, so quickly we had a house that was too big for our family. My husband and I have discussed this situation at length, as having this size house seems wasteful.

What to Do When Your House Is Too Big for You?

Ultimately, even though the house is too big for us and will only get bigger as our younger two grow up and move out in the next five to seven years, we’ll stay in the house until we’re much older, likely our 70s or 80s. We plan to stay in this house for 20 to 30 years more. Here’s why:

We’ve Already Put Significant Repair Money In This House

When we moved in, the house had several issues we needed to address; the most important was the leaky basement. We’ve spent a few thousand dollars on repairing the leaks. In addition, we’ve had to fix the garage door, replace the washer, dryer, and stove (all were original to the house and broke within the first year we moved in), and update the electrical outlets. We don’t want to think about moving again only to have to update another house. Now that we have this one in good working order, we’d like to stay here.

The Interest Rate

We bought this house when interest rates were on the rise. I was unhappy to pay 5.375 percent interest when we bought the house in August 2022, but now, when I look at how high mortgage interest rates are, I’m happier with the rate we have. If we moved within the next year or two, we’d have a much higher interest rate and a payment that would be several hundred dollars more per month even if we bought a house at the same price we bought our current home.

Smaller Houses Aren’t That Much Cheaper

In our area, most houses are two-story houses the same size as ours. There are fewer smaller, one-story houses. They’re hard to find, and when you do find them, most tend to be in less desirable areas, making eventual resale more difficult.

In addition, we don’t find utilities for our house expensive. Utility prices are cheaper here than in Arizona, so moving to a smaller home wouldn’t make much of a difference when it comes to those costs.

Kids Might Move Back for a While

Even though all of our kids might leave to go away to college, one or two of them might return for a while. I had an interrupted path through college myself and moved back home two times for a total of four years I lived with my mom after I graduated high school between the ages of 18 and 27. Our children might do the same, and it would be nice to have room for them.

We’ll (Hopefully) Need a Big House When We Have Grandkids

Our kids are now 19, 15, and 13. Within the next 10 to 15 years, we likely will have grandkids. When we do, we want to have a big house to accommodate our grandkids and all of our kids’ families when they come to visit. Staying in this home makes that possible; moving to a smaller home does not.

The House Will Grow in Value and Appeal to Families When We Move

Our subdivision is filled with families since most of the homes are larger. The subdivision was built 20 years ago, but it’s still well-maintained and a desirable place to live in our small city. I don’t see that changing, so selling will hopefully be easier when we are ready to move. In addition, we’re hopeful that our home will continue to increase in value, especially as we make necessary changes and improvements.

We Hate Moving

Finally, we hate moving! We have had three major moves during our marriage: from Michigan to Illinois, from Illinois to Arizona, and from Arizona to New York. Moving requires a large time commitment and is also expensive. Since we’re already settled in this house, we see no point in moving again.

The Downsides of Living in This Home

Of course, even though we have many reasons to stay in this house, there are downsides to keeping a house that is too big for us.

Yard Maintenance Is Time-Consuming

Our property is .67 acres, so mowing takes approximately 1.5 to 2 hours each week in the summer. We currently use a self-propelled mower, but as we age, we could buy a riding lawn mower to make the job easier and less time-consuming.

In addition, our yard has five pine trees and four maple trees. For most of the spring and summer, the pine trees drop pine cones that we need to rake up before we mow. In the fall, the leaves can take 10 to 20 hours or more to clear from our property. We plan to cut down some of these trees in the next few years, which should also help reduce yard maintenance.

No First Floor Bedroom

Some of the two-story houses we looked at had one first-floor bedroom, which would be helpful as we age. However, our house has all the bedrooms upstairs. The downstairs does have two living rooms, so we could convert one into a bedroom. However, the bathroom downstairs is a half-bath, so we would also need to remodel the bathroom. That will be an expensive endeavor.

Final Thoughts

What should you do when you have a house that is too big for you? You’ll have to consider all variables, as we have, to decide if it’s worthwhile to stay in place or if moving makes more sense.

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Melissa Batai

Why Santa Shouldn’t Bring Your Kids’ Best Christmas Gift

November 9, 2023 | Leave a Comment

My kids are all teens now—19, 15, and 13—but if I could go back in time, starting when my youngest was born, I’d make sure Santa only bought my kids lower-cost, boring gifts. Why? I have several reasons why Santa shouldn’t bring the best gift. If your children are young, hear me out and see if you agree.

When our kids were young, we didn’t have much money. We tended to get our kids practical gifts, and Santa got one big, fun, expensive gift for each child. We thought we were smart by having Santa bring only one present (we got the rest), but we erred when we had Santa bring the most expensive gift. Here’s what we learned.

Why Santa Shouldn’t Bring Your Kids Best Christmas Gift

If Santa brings the best, most expensive present every year, your kids, like ours did, may develop unrealistic impressions.

Kids Think Santa Doesn’t Have a Budget

Most kids think Santa brings them what they want, regardless of price. For instance, when my daughter was eight, she wanted a sewing machine. That was out of our price range for a present, but thanks to a Black Friday sale, I got the sewing machine she wanted at 50 percent off. Who gave her the gift? Santa. Boy, was that a big mistake.

While she understood her dad and I had a Christmas budget, she thought Santa didn’t, and in future years, she asked Santa for expensive presents, sure he could deliver. However, each year going forward, she was disappointed because she thought Santa brought her an expensive present one year, so he should be able to every Christmas.

You Should Get Credit for the Nice Presents

Besides creating unrealistic expectations by giving her that gift from Santa, her dad and I lost out on the credit for the best present she ever received. Yes, she now knows the truth about Santa, but when it comes to that gift, she still talks about how Santa gave her the best gift ever.

Kids May Feel Santa Is Unfair

Finally, if you can give expensive gifts from Santa, other kids at school who receive smaller, less costly presents from Santa may feel that Santa likes other kids better. Having Santa bring smaller gifts helps other kids avoid disappointment. Some parents even go so far as to say that Santa usually brings smaller gifts because he needs to fit so many in his sleigh.

Final Thoughts

If your kids are young now, consider the rituals you establish around gift-giving. If Santa brings the nicest present, that’s what your kids will expect year after year after year. However, if you buy all the nice gifts and Santa buys something like a $20 board game, that’s what your kids will expect. If I could do it over again with my kids, I would buy nice presents for my kids and let Santa buy the smaller ones.

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Melissa Batai

Where to Find Financial Support for Single Dads?

October 21, 2023 | Leave a Comment

When you think of single parents, you likely think of single moms struggling to raise their children and working full-time to support their families. While it’s true there are more single mothers than single fathers in the United States, the number of single fathers is growing. According to Statista, “In 2020, there were about 15.31 million children living with a single mother in the United States and about 3.27 million children living with a single father.” Yet, many of the support programs such as WIC are dedicated solely to women and their children. What financial support for single dads is available?

Where to Find Financial Support for Single Dads

Unfortunately, single dads don’t have specific financial programs for them as women do. Yet, 25% of single dads live in poverty and need financial assistance (Fatherhood). Thankfully, resources are available for any parent living at or below the poverty line.

Food Assistance

One of the most important needs for single parents is providing their kids with enough nourishing food. These programs can help.

National School Lunch Program

You can sign up for the National School Lunch Program at your child’s school. If your household income is below 130% of the poverty level or you receive SNAP or TANF (more on those later in this post), your child qualifies for a free lunch every day. If your household income is 130% to 185% of the federal poverty line, your child qualifies for a reduced-priced lunch.

Summer Food Service Program

This program is run during the summer when school is out and children no longer have access to free lunches. ANY child 18 and under can receive a free meal. No registration is required. Food distribution sites are typically at your local school district. You can go here to find a location near you.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

SNAP provides money for low-income families to purchase approved foods. To qualify, you must apply at your local state office. Generally, SNAP qualification is based on your income (gross income must be below 130% of the poverty level), your assets, and the number of people in the family.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)

TEFAP is another safety net that provides food at no cost to eligible recipients. If you qualify for and receive SNAP, you automatically qualify for TEFAP. If your gross income does not exceed 185% of the federal poverty level, you also qualify.

To apply, you must go to your local TEFAP distribution site, bring your driver’s license, and answer a few basic questions.

Food Pantries

Photo by Aaron Doucett on Unsplash

Another place to go when you’re having trouble providing food for your family is a local food pantry. Most food pantries are allowed to give one family food once a month or sometimes twice a month. Many families take advantage of this when they have a week or so left before they get their next month’s SNAP benefits and they are running low on food at home.

Soup Kitchens

Don’t forget that you can also get a hot meal at your local soup kitchen. Incidentally

Medical Assistance

Medical care is expensive but should not be neglected. These agencies can help provide financial support for single dads when it comes to medical costs.

Medicare

Medicare is typically for individuals 65 and older, but if you have a disability or your child has a disability, you or your child may qualify for Medicare. (You can learn more about qualifying here.) If you are under 65 and receive Social Security Disability, you are qualified for Medicare.

Medicaid

Eligibility for Medicaid varies based on which state you live in. Medicaid provides coverage for low-income families, qualified pregnant women and children, and people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). To learn more, go to your state’s Medicaid website.

Other Assistance

Besides food and insurance expenses, a single father may have other financial needs depending on his income and family size. These programs are also available to eligible recipients.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Depending on your location, winter heating bills or summer air conditioning bills can cause financial hardship. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program tries to fill that need. However, the earlier you can apply, the better. When the program runs out of money for the year, even qualified applicants do not receive funds. On average, 20% of the people who qualify receive the funds.

The applications are accepted and reviewed through your local LIHEAP office. Some offices automatically qualify people who receive SNAP, TANF, or SSI. Others do not, so you’ll need to contact your local office to determine what you need to qualify and how much relief funds you may receive. Some offices also set aside funds to help you with weatherization, so you’ll pay less in the future.

Child Care Subsidies

Child care can be a family’s most expensive bill, often even more expensive than monthly rent or mortgage payments. To assist with this need, the federal government gives each state money to subsidize child care. Go here to see what your state offers.

This program mainly helps low-income families where the parent works full-time but earns less than 165% of the federal poverty level, teen parents enrolled in high school or GED programs, people currently living in a homeless shelter, and those who are unable to work due to a disability.

Final Thoughts

Being a single parent isn’t easy! Thankfully, there is financial support for single dads, but you will have to apply to many different agencies to get the variety of aid available. Educate yourself about what is available and apply as early as possible, so you have the best chance of getting aid. Also, don’t be afraid or embarrassed to take advantage of the available services. Remember, your financial situation may be temporary. In another few years, you may have a much better-paying job and be able to pay for more of your needs on your own.

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Melissa Batai

How Two Teens Are Financially Responsible in Different Ways

October 12, 2023 | Leave a Comment

My daughters are 13.5 and 15 years old. Last summer, I decided I wanted them to begin to learn how to manage money in preparation for leaving the nest someday. I created a new chore chart for them, increased the amount I paid them, and told them they were responsible for buying all their clothes. (The increase in chores and pay was enough to cover the cost of their clothing—if they did their chores each week.) Now that this experiment has played out over a year, I’ve discovered they’ve both become financially responsible in different ways.

Daughter #1

My oldest daughter diligently does her chores. She saves her money and tries to buy clothes when they’re on sale. Sometimes she does extra chores because she wants more clothes or spending money. This child works hard and then carefully spends her money—but she does spend.

Daughter #2

My younger daughter hates doing chores. She will go weeks doing very little and, subsequently, earn very little. Then, for one or two weeks, she will have a spurt of energy and do all her chores plus some extra.

However, not doing chores hasn’t impacted her fashion because she’s a shrewd bargain shopper. For instance, their homecoming is a few weeks away. She went to the store, shopped the clearance racks, and found a homecoming dress she loved in her size that was marked down to $14. When we checked out, we discovered the dress was a further 50 percent off, so she got her homecoming dress for $7. She continually finds bargains like this, so she doesn’t pay much for her clothes.

My Parental Frustration

My objective for this experiment was that my daughters would learn that work equals money to save and spend. If you don’t work, you miss out because you don’t have money.

My oldest daughter has learned this lesson. She works hard and carefully spends her money.

My second daughter has circumvented the system. She only works when she feels like it or needs to replenish her dwindling funds. Instead, she’s learned to be an impressive bargain shopper. She’s also learned to limit her wants so she doesn’t spend much. Her freedom from work is more important than buying things.

At first, I thought I had failed my younger daughter, but now I realize she has learned important lessons—she makes her money stretch, so she’s not beholden to a job. I’m guessing many of us adults wish we had the same ability to only work when we need to or want to.

I’m not sure how this philosophy will work in adulthood, but clearly, she’s learning money management, just in a different way than I envisioned.

Final Thoughts

If you have teens, I encourage you to try this experiment. If your kid is constantly hitting you up for spending money, make her work for that money and give her enough money, but not too much, so she learns to allocate her money properly. You may discover, as I have, that teens learn financial responsibilities in different ways, but they ARE learning responsibility.

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Should You Wait to Travel Internationally Until Your Kids Are Older?

September 7, 2023 | Leave a Comment

Our family recently returned from an 11-day trip to Japan to visit family. The trip was my third visit to Japan, but it was the first for our children — ages 19, 14, and 13. While we have traveled extensively with them throughout the United States, they have never been to a foreign country. After the trip, my husband and I discussed the best time to travel internationally with kids. We decided the answer depends on your children’s temperament and your flexibility.

Should You Wait to Travel Internationally Until Your Kids Are Older?

We wanted to make the trip to Japan for quite some time, but we couldn’t imagine such a long journey when our kids were little. We were planning a trip for February 2020, when our kids were 16, 11, and 10, which I think would have been the best ages to travel internationally with kids. However, COVID hit, and we had to cancel our trip. As soon as Japan opened back up, we made our plans.

Benefits of Traveling with Kids 10 Years Old and Older

Now that we’ve experienced taking a large international trip with our kids, we decided that kids over 10 are the best to travel abroad with for several reasons.

Require Less Stuff

When you travel with babies and toddlers, you must pack a lot of stuff—additional clothes, diapers, baby gear, etc. Our kids didn’t need much extra stuff. We each brought a carry-on for the five of us to use during the plane trip. We only brought three suitcases total, so we traveled light.

Can Participate in Planning

Older kids can participate more in planning the trip. Our kids all researched and decided what they wanted to see, and then we voted on the choices. We could choose from activities geared toward adults as well as activities geared toward kids because our kids could do either. When you travel with younger kids, you’re confined to activities that cater to children.

Can Better Handle a Long Flight and Jet Lag

Our travel time was 24 hours straight. During that time, we had an hour-long drive, a 1.5-hour flight, a six-hour layover, a 12.5-hour flight, and a one-hour train ride. It was grueling for us, but it would have been much more difficult with younger kids.

Can Learn More

I think traveling with kids at any age is important, but when kids are younger, they don’t remember the vacations as well. An international trip requires a great deal of planning and is costly. Because we made this trip when our kids were in their teens, they are more likely to remember than if we had taken them when they were under ten.

Final Thoughts

Plenty of people travel internationally with young children. However, for our family, my husband and I decided the best time to travel internationally with kids is when they’re ten or older.

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Melissa Batai

Why Has Fast Food Become So Expensive?

August 28, 2023 | Leave a Comment

Our family hadn’t had our favorite fast food, Chipotle, since the pandemic began two years ago. When my daughter asked for Chipotle for one of her birthday meals this year, we happily bought it. But boy, were we surprised by the experience! We were shocked to hear our final total for four meals–$53! We were left wondering, why has fast food become so expensive? Our order total was significantly higher than when we bought Chipotle two years ago.

Why Has Fast Food Become So Expensive?

Fast food prices are increasing due to two variables.

Higher Priced Food Items

The United States is currently experiencing high inflation not seen in 40 years. The price of everything is going up including gas and basic goods like the food supplies fast-food chains rely on. When basics like lettuce, tomatoes, and meat increase, most fast-food chains have no choice but to pass those costs onto consumers.

Labor Shortage

In addition to higher food prices, fast food chains are experiencing a labor shortage, which has a ripple effect on the restaurants.

Shorter Hours

Some fast-food restaurants have cut their business hours because they don’t have enough staff. If the restaurant is open fewer hours a day, fewer workers are needed. However, the restaurant is then bringing in less money.

Fewer Items on the Menu

Some restaurants are offering fewer items on the menu to consolidate their business. For instance, Burger King is focusing on “menu simplification, removing low-volume items” (Insider). This streamlines the number of ingredients they need to buy and store.

Higher Wages

Finally, most fast-food restaurants have no choice but to raise wages to attract employees. Many chains have had to raise wages by 10 to 15%, which affects their bottom lines and requires them to raise food prices.

How to Combat High Fast-Food Prices

In our busy society, more and more families rely on fast food. However, if you no longer can afford fast food regularly, you have some other options:

Make Slow Cooker Meals

If you’re too tired to cook when you come home from kids’ activities or work, put a meal in the slow cooker in the morning before you leave. When you come home, a hot meal will be waiting for you.

Have Freezer Meals Ready

Another idea is to make meals to freeze. Thaw them the night before and reheat them when you get home. If you don’t have time for that, buy ready-made, family-size freezer meals from the store. They’re much cheaper than buying the whole family fast food.

Bulk Cook on the Weekends

Or, you could make several meals on the weekend. Then, during the week, reheat and serve. For busy nights when you won’t be home to eat, pack sandwiches and chips. It’s not fast food, but it is quick and easy.

Final Thoughts

Why has fast food become so expensive? The simple answer is that inflation is hitting all aspects of our lives. If you can no longer afford fast food regularly, you can try some other strategies to get a meal on the table quickly. Remember, inflation doesn’t last forever; eventually, you’ll be able to once again afford your favorite fast-food meal without such a punch to your wallet.

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Melissa Batai

8 Reasons Why Children Are Priceless

August 7, 2023 | 2 Comments

There seems to be a lot of discussion, constantly, about how expensive children are. While yes, you do have to be financially responsible about having a child, they do not need to be anywhere near as expensive as some ‘studies’ would have you believe. This is a topic I’ve already written about, so today we’re going to chat about the reasons why children are priceless.

I’m not trying to make it seem like having children is all sunshine and roses, because it’s not. It’s far, far from it actually, but having a child will change your life in ways you couldn’t imagine until it happens.

Reasons Why Children Are Priceless

They Inspire Deep Love

You may think you knew what love was before you had a child; trust me I did. I love my husband, my family and my friends but the love you have for your child is something you will have never experienced. The love you have for this tiny little human is indescribable. It changes and shapes every other relationship in your life.

The love you have for your child grows. Though I instinctively wanted to love and protect my child as soon as he was born, the love I have for him and my other two children, is so much different, and intense, than it was on the days they were born.

This idea is best epitomized by Elizabeth Stone’s statement, “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”

They Spread Happiness

I am truly happy when I am with my children and they are in good moods. You simply cannot be in a bad mood when your happy toddler smiles up at you or when your tweens tell you silly jokes. Their emotions are raw, and you can’t help but feel it with them.

They Teach You Patience

You may be an impatient person, but once you have a child, that has to change. If you show impatience and anger with your children, they will likely shut down or cry. Instead, you must gently encourage them so that they can succeed. (This can be extremely trying when you have to wait by the door for your toddler to slowly put on his shoes by himself because he’s refused your help or when he unbuckles his car seat for the fifth time in one car trip.)

Children will, by their very nature, teach you to be patient.

They Give You a Second Chance at Childhood Joy

Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash

By the time you’re in your twenties and thirties, you likely have lost much of your childhood joy. You may no longer take joy in driving around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights or the first snowfall of the season. Once you have a child, all of that changes.

As you watch your young children grow excited for Christmas, you do, too. When your child gleefully opens the presents under the Christmas tree, you will likely feel a spark of excitement again. When you bundle your child up to go out in the first snowfall, you will suddenly delight in building a snowman and making snow angels. Children give you a second chance at childhood joy.

They Are Brutally Honest

Kids are honest. Kids force you to be honest. Honest about yourself and about your life. When your child is born you are suddenly hyper aware of every detail in your life. From your financial life to the mess on your bedside table. Children inadvertently have a way of forcing us to be honest about our lives.

It was having a child that forced us to finally get serious about getting out of debt rather than living with it in limbo.

They Are Humbling

Becoming a parent is one of, if not the most, humbling experience in the world. No amount of research, parenting book reading or doctors appointments can ever prepare you for your child and the experiences you will go through as a parent. I think being humbled is an important trait for people and if you’ve yet to experience it, having a kid will do it for sure.

They Make You Less Self-Centered

Before you have children, you may not realize you’re self-centered, but you are. You likely have your own routine, your own rituals, that give you joy. Yet, when you have a child, all of that discipline and focus on yourself and what makes you feel good is upended. You get much less sleep in the baby stage, and your life and schedule suddenly revolve around the baby’s.

Photo by Adrià Crehuet Cano on Unsplash

When your kids get older, your life still centers around your children and their education and their activities. Sure, as kids get older and become more independent, you will be able to do more things for, and spend more time on, yourself. However, you don’t get your life back as truly your own until your kids move out. By then, you won’t want to go back to the self-centered years before you had kids.

They Give You Perspective

Having a child puts your life in a whole new perspective. Suddenly everything else in life is so much less important. You wonder what you did with your time before, and you wonder how you possibly lived your life without this person in it.

For the rest of your life, your children will shape and change your world, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Final Thoughts

Having a child is the hardest, yet most rewarding thing you can ever possibly do in your life. Yes, they are expensive, but don’t believe that kids are as expensive to raise as the experts would have you believe. Besides, what they give back in their love and the way they make you grow as a person are some of the reasons why children are priceless.

7 Types of Behavioral Disorders in Children Every Parent Should Know

Dogs and Children: 6 Tips for Teaching Them to Be Gentle with Each Other

9 Important Values to Teach Children

What Is Attachment Parenting?

Editors Note: If you’re interested in checking out an up and coming new personal finance blog, consider reading kidwealth.com. Its got several articles similar to this one.

Melissa Batai

Best Travel Crib for Twins? Hands Down It’s The Joovy Room²

July 30, 2023 | Leave a Comment

Traveling with babies and toddlers is always interesting. First, you have to plan the actual trip. How will the baby do? What can you do as a parent to make your baby more comfortable and able to pass the time while you’re traveling? But then there are other considerations, namely, all the gear that you have to pack so you can travel with the baby. Think playpens, strollers, portable changing tables, etc. If you have twins, the planning is likely to double. However, if you choose the best travel crib for twins, you get a lot of your travel gear in one purchase.

Best Travel Crib for Twins

Now that more people are having twins, the market has exploded. Lucky for us as buyers, that means there are many choices available, but you really only need one that is superior to the rest.

Joovy Room²

Hands down, the best travel crib for twins is the Joovy Room².

This product comes with a thick pad for the bottom as well as a soft, fitted, waterproof sheet. This playpen can accommodate children from newborns to those 35 inches tall, which means you’ll be able to use it for several years. (The manufacturer asks that you discontinue use when the child can climb out.)

Pros

There are many pros with the Joovy Room².

Spacious

This portable playpen is bigger than standard pack n plays, which makes it ideal for twins. In fact, it’s nearly 10 square feet in size and can easily accommodate two children.

Additional Features

The Joovy Room² has wide mesh on all sides, so you can more easily see your children.

It also comes with a storage bag that you can use when traveling with the Joovy.

Finally, it has two wheels on the bottom to allow you to easily move the Joovy Room².

Twin Nursery Center Bassinet Playpen Accessory

For newborns and infants, you can purchase the Joovy Twin Nursery Center Bassinet Playpen Accessory.

This handy accessory turns your playpen into the perfect portable crib for twin babies. It includes:

Bassinet,
Bassinet divider (so each baby has their own separate space to sleep in), and
Changing table (which sits on top of the bassinet area)

For convenience, the changing table flips to the side when not in use.

The bassinet holds up to 30 pounds, which means the twins can use it until they weigh 15 pounds each.

Cons

Although twin parents love the Joovy Room², it does have some drawbacks.

Heavy

Because it is large and comes with a high-quality, thick mattress, some parents say that it’s heavy. A few even say it’s too heavy to travel with. However, that is a minority of parents.

Bunching Sheet

Other parents complain that after the sheet has been washed a few times, it has the tendency to bunch and not fit as snugly as when it was new.

Why the Joovy Room² Is the Only Twin Travel Crib To Consider

There are many twin travel cribs on the market, but since the Joovy Room² is superior to the rest, it’s the only one you need to consider. It beats the competitors in several aspects:

Affordable

The Joovy Room² is $179.99 no matter which retailer you buy from. The Joovy twin nursery center bassinet playpen insert is an additional $99.99. For the price, you get a twin travel crib that is approximately 50 percent bigger than others on the market. In addition, the shape is square rather than the typical rectangular shape, giving your children more room.

Flexible Buying Options

Some other twin travel cribs on the market include the twin bassinet as part of your purchase. You can save money if you need the bassinets because the set is about $50 cheaper than buying the Joovy Room² playpen and bassinet accessory. But not everyone needs the bassinet accessory. If you simply need a travel playpen, the Joovy Room² is cheaper and bigger than the competitors.

Excellent Reviews

Read reviews on Amazon, and you’ll see that customers give the Joovy Room² 4.7 out of 5 stars. Specifically, 85 percent of customers give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Where To Buy The Joovy Room²?

The Joovy Room² is available on Joovy’s website, Amazon.com, and Walmart. As of the writing of this posting, all three are selling the Joovy² for the same price: $179.99. Also, shipping times are comparable between the three retailers. Joovy’s website says they ship in 2 to 5 business days. Amazon also ships in 2 to 5 days and Walmart offers a similar shipping time.

So, where to get it is up to you. Here are three main options, click on the price in each table cell to buy the crib.

Joovy	Amazon	Walmart
Price: $179.99	Price: $179.99	Price: $179.99

Joovy is not available on costco.com.

Don’t forget to use a cash-back credit card – but keep the balance paid off.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for the best travel crib for twins, consider adding the Joovy Room² to your baby registry or buying it. This product will continue to serve your family for several years.

Discounts for Parents of Twins and Multiples

What I Love Most About Having Twins!

Tips on Buying Gifts for Twins

Melissa Batai