November 2008 Archives

I aksed my virtual teen group how the financial crisis is affecting them. Here are a few representative responses:

"It scares me that I might not have the same fortunate living that I do in my parent's house and that doing the things I love may not work financially and I'll have to get a job fo the money and not the interest. I also worry that I won't be able to give my children the same or better education that I have and I worry that they will feel scared too. With the financial crisis, my goals will be set back to simply paying the bills."

"I'm scared that I might not get to go to college or get a job. In one of my classes we recently talked about low-wage jobs becoming non-existent because of the bad economy. How can I go up the ladder if I can't get on it in the first place?"

"I worry about my parents losing their jobs."

"I don't want my parents to lose their job and then we'd have to sell our house."

"I hope my parents can afford to send me to a good college."

Do you have a question for our virtual teen group (aka Secret Sources)? Post a question in the post comments section. Talk to your teen about the financial crisis. Ask if she has questions. Strike a balance between fostering confidence and honestly answering questions. See the post How to Talk to Kids About Money in the Money Talk blog archives.

In my last post, I wrote about how Michelle Obama, by calling herself Mom-in-Chief, elevates the status of the job of mom. Alexia Jackson, founder of Mother: the Job promotes the economic vaue of mother's work through art and a film called All Day. I encourage you to view a video of her recent appearance on ABC's View from the Bay, complete with her Laundry Monster sculpture, reminding us of the sophistication, value, and daily comedy of raising kids. View from the Bay 

I can see how leaving her job and declaring she will be a mom first rubs working mothers the wrong way--we all put the job of mom first. But what I think matters most is that Michelle Obama will use her First Lady role to champion work/family policies that 26 million working mothers need to be effective moms-in-chief. She's lived this juggling act. By celebrating her mom-in-chief role instead of apologizing for it, she conveys that it is possible to be ambitious and a devoted mother--that these two roles are not mutually exclusive but mutually enriching. She sends a powerful message that being a mom inherently means being a leader. Her words not only help give the job of mom status, but conveys an attitude that will help our country recognize the support we all need to be moms first.  Personally, I'm ecstatic that we will have a Mom-in-chief in the White House. I trust this is good news for all moms. See related NPR story...  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97128098