You are very careful when talking around your kids.  There are certain words you never use when they could be in ear-shot. Below are some 4-letter words that have negative connotations in our culture today that you HAVE to teach your kids to use:

.

Ask someone about their local financial institution and how they feel about it.  Most people don’t like BANKs, they are greedy and helped cause the financial meltdown of 2007, right?  But is having a checking account making a deal with the devil?  Use your local BANK to store your operating capital (personal checking account) or even a place to park money for future purchases (see next 4-letter word)

.

Why don’t we teach our kids this word?  Do we want our offspring to grow up thinking that the money in their pocket has to go somewhere right away or it will disappear?  I can tell you that the money WILL disappear if it isn’t stored away for the future.  PS – I have counseled adult couples who don’t “use” this word properly.

.

Probably the most misunderstood 4-letter word.  Go to Wikipedia.org and type in this 4-letter word and your search won’t display an instant answer (try it, you will receive options pointing to a studio recording by The Bad Plus, a small town in Denmark, and the acronym for the “GIVE Act” being debated in Congress).  To find a technical definition you can go to Webster’s dictionary.  It defines this transitive verb: “To put into the possession of another for his/her use”. Absolutely no need to reciprocate (big word my wife taught me).  And by the way, people LOVE givers.  People who GIVE are more appreciated, loved, and have more friends than those who “keep” (excuse my French).

.

OK, now that I have your attention let’s talk about DEBT.  Teach your children the real meaning of this word and you can avoid a lot of painful discussions when they get older.  It’s just like the subject of sex –it’s this amazing secret they HAVE to learn about and will discuss at lengthy with their “experienced” teenage friends but when a parent sits down and talks about it the response is “Stop it Dad, I’m too young for this yucky stuff”.  Once they know the mechanical workings of sex (I mean DEBT) the mystery is gone and the search for answers is dramatically reduced.  That one discussion could lead to greater communication between parents and less regret from experimenting with DEBT.

What are some more four-letter words that we should teach our children? Please leave your comments below.