Every parent looks forward to that time when their children get accepted to their chosen college or university. It’s a time of great excitement and pride of accomplishment for both parents and children.

It is also a time of nervousness and uncertainty for both parties regarding the new environment, friends, work load, and most importantly, finances.

One lucky artist will win a $20,000 Gerber Life College Scholarship

As your child heads back to school or maybe starts school for the first time, you probably wonder what he or she may be when they grow up. It’s fun to imagine the possibilities: athlete, writer, photographer, engineer, dentist. Now’s the time for your child to grab some crayons or colored pencils and draw a picture of what they want to be when they grow up, and enter for a chance to win a $20,000 Gerber Life College Plan. Entering the Gerber Life College Scholarship Art Contest is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

It may be hard to believe, but summer is almost gone. It will soon be time for another school year. For some parents, that means a kindergartner attending school for the first time, or a teenager heading into their senior year of high school. For most, it’s somewhere in between. No matter where you fall on the back-to-school timeline, Gerber Life Insurance Company wants to ensure your child is prepared to achieve great things this year and for years to come.

Before you get the backpacks ready and school clothes lined up, let’s revisit some fun trivia questions you may have been asked when you were in school. After all, it’s never too late to learn, or–in this case–re-learn.

Starting a new school year on a positive note and maintaining that positivity is important for every student—and every parent, too. After all, a positive experience at school can make all the difference in a child’s confidence and performance. Enjoying school and performing well in the classroom is a goal that mom, dad and child can aim for together.

A. Before the school year begins
The steps you take leading up to the new school year can set the precedence for the year ahead. The following new school year ideas have worked for many parents:

Although there aren’t always hard and fast allowance rules, the ideal time to start giving an allowance to your child is at the beginning of the school year. An allowance teaches discipline and responsibility, forcing kids to think about choices and consequences. It’s also a great tool for math, money management and saving for the future. When these skills are applied to children’s schoolwork, you may actually see improved grades, an increased desire to learn, and greater confidence.

What is the best age for starting an allowance?
You may have seen or heard a variety of answers to this question, including comments that most money experts agree that preschoolers are too young to have an allowance because they don’t fully understand the concept of money. Once kids are in school and begin learning about dollars and cents and buying and selling, they likely have a much better idea of what it means to spend money from their own stash versus having mom or dad pay. Because you know your child better than anyone else, however, you are best-qualified person to decide the age at which your son or daughter is ready to be paid.