Posts for May 2010

This month, as we honor the memory of those that died in the service of the military, FamilyMint is honored to receive an award from This Old Schoolhouse (TOS).  The TOS crew voted for the vendors that they thought were special and had a product they considered to be outstanding.   We are pleased to inform you that FamilyMint won for the category of ”Most Family-Oriented Product”!

Charity is the greatest of virtues and like any virtue requires training, discipline and patience.  As any parent can attest, human nature can be inclined towards selfishness even in our youngest children.

If a child has two toys, will he hold onto both instead of giving one of the toys to his brother? If she has two cookies, would she rather eat both or share one with her sister?  Charity is something that needs to be taught and nurtured early in life.  It starts out by repeatedly saying “share that toy with your brother” or “give your sister the other cookie.”  We explain why we share and how it makes the other person feel.  Although the child may give begrudgingly at first, it is a foundation from which untold future benefits will flow.

Through the act of giving, children start to build an understanding of needs outside of their own.  They begin to learn about sacrifice and thinking of others before themselves.  From this early foundation they are taught to see the good in giving to their family members, their friends, their church, or numerous other organizations that help out those less fortunate.

Through acts of charity we build an appreciation for the things we have, both big and small.  FamilyMint is a great tool for instilling the virtue of charity and providing teachable moments as to the good in giving.  By creating a charity goal, a constant visual reminder is given to the children every time they log in.

“One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, yet is the poorer. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”  Proverbs 11:24-25

It has been a little over two months since we launched FamilyMint to the public and we have been growing by leaps and bounds thanks to all of you. In fact we have more than doubled our user base in both February and March. Please keep the recommendations coming!

A child can cancel a transaction anytime prior to it being approved. and the banker can deny the transaction if approvals are turned on.

But just like an online bank, once it is approved and posted, you can no longer edit it. This way, there is always a complete history of everything that happened in your bank. If a transaction is approved in error, you can simply create an opposing transaction to nullify the previous transaction.

Uploading custom images is easy and the kids love the ability to personalize their profile and goals.

To upload a picture, select Browse under the Upload a Custom Image window and select the image you wish to upload on your hard drive.  Click on Upload and wait for the successful completion message. If your image fails to display, try reducing its size. The maximum file size for custom images is 8 MB.

Your kids can also upload custom images for their goal accounts.   Go to Amazon.com or another online retailer where you normally browse and find the product your child is interested in. Right click on the product image and click on Save Image As.  Save image to your Desktop for easy reference or other folder of your choosing. Now follow the steps above to upload a custom image.