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Good nutrition is essential for childrens health, but countless parents struggle to get their kids to eat right. For many families, mealtime is a frequent source of conflict and power struggles. If your child is a picky eater, you need to understand that it’s not uncommon.

Give Your Child Time
Many kids are reluctant to try unfamiliar foods. Their taste preferences take time to develop”a child may need to see, smell, feel and taste a food several times before deciding that they like it. If your child says they don’t like a food the first time you offer it, dont force the issue; that will only create stress and frustration for both of you. Accept that your child doesnt want to eat the food, and then offer it again in a week or two. Introducing it in another dish with a different collection of ingredients may make your child more willing to give it a try.

Dont Cave In
If your child refuses to eat what you’ve prepared for dinner, dont make them a separate meal. You can offer a healthy alternative, such as fruit or vegetables, or a nutritious snack later, but dont interrupt your own meal and go out of your way to cater to your child. That will only reinforce your childs picky eating habits.

Dont Bribe Your Child With Dessert
Dont tell your child that if they eat dinner, dessert will be a reward”that sends the message that dinner is something that needs to be endured to get to the reward. This strategy could cause your child to overindulge at every opportunity.

Set an Example
Children learn by observing others. If family members talk about how much they enjoy a particular food, a child will most likely become curious and want to try it sooner or later. Don’t just talk about the taste of a particular food, but also the smell, the texture, and the way it complements other ingredients in a particular dish.

Get Your Child Involved
Let your child have input when deciding what to make for dinner. Look at recipes together and take your child grocery shopping with you. Have your child help you prepare meals in age-appropriate ways, such as rinsing vegetables or stirring together ingredients. Your child will be more likely to want to eat a meal that he or she was actively involved in preparing.

Be Patient
If your child is a picky eater, dont despair”tastes and preferences change dramatically over time. Be patient and offer a variety of foods, but dont force your child to eat anything they don’t want to. Keep mealtimes as relaxed as possible, and your child will be willing to try new foods when he or she feels ready.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Credit cards can help you afford things you need if you dont have the money right now, but they often lead to trouble. Some people overspend, while others are forced to rely on credit cards more than they’d like because of a job loss or an unexpected expense.

No matter how you got into debt, if you’re struggling to make your monthly payments, you’re probably feeling overwhelmed. It may feel like you’ll never be able to get out of debt, especially if you have high interest rates.

Debt consolidation can allow you to pay off your balances in a relatively short amount of time. It can enable you to combine all of your credit card debts into one bill with a single monthly payment. That can make it much easier to manage your finances.

Debt Consolidation Options

One option is a balance transfer, allowing you to transfer your balances from one or more high-interest credit cards to another card that offers a lower interest rate. Some cards even offer balance transfers with zero percent interest, but you’ll have to pay balance transfer fees.

You can also take out an unsecured consolidation loan to manage your debt. The interest rate on the loan will be lower than the interest rates on your credit cards, which means you’ll be able to put more money toward principal and pay off your bills faster.

A third option is a debt management program. That can help you create a plan to pay off your debts and allow you to receive counseling to help you avoid running into a similar problem in the future.

Things to Consider

When you consolidate your debts, you’ll be able to significantly lower your interest rates. That means with each payment, a higher amount will go toward the principal on your balance. This way, you can pay off your debt in a fraction of the time it might otherwise take.

Consolidating your debt can help you avoid damage to your credit score because of missed or late payments. Consolidation can make your payments easier to manage, which means you’ll be less likely to have missed or late payments and will be able to maintain or improve your credit score.

If you decide to consolidate your debt, you need to be careful not to overuse your credit cards while you’re paying off your balances and dig yourself deeper into debt. You need to stick with the repayment plan, or else you might wind up facing penalties and interest.

A Way Out of Debt

If you’ve gotten in over your head with credit cards, debt consolidation could be what you need to get back on track. By consolidating your debt, you can lower your interest rates and pay off your bills faster. If you stay on the right path, you can get yourself out of debt and keep it that way.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

No matter how complex your computer password is, it isnt enough to stop a thief from using other methods to steal your personal information if they find or steal your computer.

A strong password may prevent someone from logging into your computer, but thieves can remove the hard drive and put it into another computer to access your files. They can also find other ways to copy files off the computer, and may even be able to reset the password and gain access to email, passwords and other personal information.

Encryption can help by jumbling data on important files or whole devices using a mathematical process. The encrypted areas can only be accessed with a password, known as a key; thieves wont be able to reset the password if the device is encrypted.

To encrypt your hard drive, you can use a free program such as VeraCrypt or do it yourself in a few minutes through programs already installed on Windows and Apple computers. Search How to encrypt on your computer and follow the simple directions.

Windows computers have a Device Encryption area in the System folder. Users must log into Windows with a Microsoft account.

If your computer doesnt support device encryption, you can use another built-in encryption tool called BitLocker. Its available only on Professional versions of Windows and above, though Home edition users can upgrade for $99.

Mac laptops are also easy to encrypt. A feature called FileVault encrypts an entire system drive and can be turned on in the Security & Privacy section under Preferences.

Dont store the encryption key (password) on the computer being encrypted. Instead, save it in a safe place in case you ever get locked out. Write it down and dont put it out in plain sight. Better yet, lock it in a physical safe that only you can access. Without the password, you wont be able to retrieve your information online if your computer is lost or stolen.

Modern iPhones and Android phones automatically encrypt data if a PIN or password is used. Encryption only needs to be turned on with a desktop or laptop computer.

Along with encryption, you should keep a good backup of your data on another hard drive”which you should also encrypt”or with a cloud service that keeps your data secure.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If you’ve just graduated from college, this is the perfect time to establish smart financial habits. With hopefully a full-time job awaiting, this is the time to establish habits you’ll continue throughout your life.

Where to start? It’s likely you’ve racked up some student loan debt. The good news is that federal student loans come with a grace period after graduation of usually six months. Borrowers don’t have to make payments during this time and can use that time to make sure they have a payment plan they can afford.

Look at your total loan amount, interest rate and expected monthly payment. If you can’t afford it, you may want to apply for a payment option that links your payments to your income. This can lead to paying more interest but will give you breathing room as you start your career. Also, make sure your loan servicer has your updated contact information so that statements and other information get to you on time.

Keep Track of Your Money
A cash flow analysis is an important financial habit to start because it lets you know how much money is coming in and what’s going out. Start simply with a piece of paper. List income streams on the left (most likely to only be your paycheck) and list fixed expenses on the right. These can include rent, car payments, insurance, food and an emergency fund. Then list variable expenses, such as gifts, vacations and dining out.

If there’s a gap between income and expenses, then it’s time to alter one or both categories. Can you get a roommate to cut costs? Use public transportation instead of owning a car? There are all kinds of budgeting apps that can help you decide expenses to cut and that keep track of where your money goes.

Start Saving
Along with an emergency fund of six months of living expenses, start the habit of saving your money by contributing to your employer-sponsored 401(k) or other retirement plan. Try to invest at least the minimum amount to get a matching contribution from your employer, usually 3-5 percent. This way, you’re giving your future self a raise without much work.

Health Insurance
The Affordable Care Act allows you to stay on your parents’ health plan until you turn 26. If that isn’t an option, hopefully your employer offers health insurance.

If you have low medical expenses, as most healthy, young, single adults do, then look for a plan that has a health savings account, so you can save for health emergencies. Such medical plans may have high deductibles, which is money you pay out of pocket when you’re sick. However, the money is deposited before you pay taxes on them, and they grow tax free and can be withdrawn tax free for medical needs.

Published with permission from RISMedia.