Writing a check or sending a toy to a child in need is generous, but going to a shelter with your child to deliver that toy will have a much bigger impact.

That's where parents sometimes have difficulty. When we start talking about money to our own children, a little judgment creeps into the conversation.

A lot of the publicity is really negative about people - that they've got hit men ... they waste all the money. I'm sure that does happen. I just know there are a lot of people who really do adjust successfully.

Don't worry about your kids wanting things -- that's natural,

If parents can think of it in terms of a process, not a cutoff, it can help.

We have writing classes and language classes. We have writing conferences.