Focus on the Family Magazine - April/May 2023

PERSONAL INFORMATION / HACKS & FACTS
beauty salon
address tunes
JUNO-STOCKSY UNITED
To help my young children learn their vital contact
information, such as name, address and phone
number, I developed Jenny’s Beauty Salon.
Each morning, I line up brushes, ponytail
holders and detangling spray, and then call out,
“Who has an appointment?” Sophie, 6, usually
arrives first.
“Name?” I ask, glancing at an imaginary
appointment schedule.
“Sophie,” she answers, smiling.
“Last name?”
“Address?”
And then, as I begin to ease a brush through
her tangles, she cheerfully recites her address
and phone number. When she stumbles, I help
her, making sure she repeats the information.
When she’s done, I glance again at the pretend
appointment book and nod.
“Yes, here you are.”
Carrie, 4, climbs into my lap next, and I repeat
the questions as I braid her hair. Now we play
the beauty salon game most mornings. The girls
think it’s simply a game, but I know it’s a way to
teach them an essential safety lesson—and get
their hair done, too.
—Jennifer Tananbaum
I took songs or rhymes that my kids knew and personalized
them with important information such as my phone number
or our address. For example, the lyrics to “Do You Know
the Muffin Man” became “Do you know the Isaac man, the
Isaac man, the Isaac man? Do you know the Isaac man who
lives on 219 Lindley Lane?” OK, it’s not a perfect rhyme, but it
worked. The kids remember important information.
—Jennifer Henn
dual-purpose password
We have two desktop computers that our kids share.
My husband had the idea of using his cellphone number
(along with additional symbols) as the password for
one computer and my phone number as the base for the
other password. Our kids had no problem learning our
phone numbers since they typed them in daily to log on
to the computers. We plan to use this system to teach
them other important information such as our address.
—Cayce Finley
ALERT: Never use just your phone number or personal
information as a password. These are easily hacked.
fill in the forms
My wife and I use online shopping to teach our
kids their names, address and phone number.
When it’s time to enter the billing information, we
let our kids do the typing. Then we handle typing
in the payment details. It gives us a chance to talk
about when it’s safe and not safe to give out personal
information on the internet.
—Jared Hottenstein
APRIL / MAY 2023 FOCUS ON THE FAMILY 9