My mermaid daughter.
There are soccer moms, dance moms, and hockey moms. There are stage moms and pageant moms.
I’m a mermaid mom.
When I take my girls to the beach, I hear little children running to their parents almost immediately.
“Mom!!! I saw a mermaid! A real live mermaid!”
The parents are confused at first. Then they see the tail on my Adventurer.
“Oh wow look at that!”
It started with H2O, an Australian show about teen mermaids. Swimming like a mermaid (using a monofin and fabric tail) has become an international sport known as mermaiding. In the photo above, she is pictured wearing her swimable mermaid tail, shipped all the way from Germany.
I expect the craze to arrive full force in the US any time now. It arrived here in our house last year. And now I’m a mermaid mom.
Around the same time as my daughter’s new obsession began, I sat down with each of the kids and asked them a couple of simple questions.
What do you want to learn about?
How would you love to spend your time?
Their answers were many and diverse. The Adventurer rapidly responded with a long list. One of her ideas was to start her own business.
We looked closely at her interests and hobbies. We came up with a way for her to start a business related to something she loved. Mermaiding.
She started out by creating a blog about mermaiding. It’s pretty popular, considering she doesn’t write there all that frequently. She also decided to design mermaid inspired jewelry and accessories. They aren’t all available yet, but they will be in her Etsy store when they are ready.
Mermaid inspired necklace.
Many homeschoolers encourage their teens to start their own business for the experience. Creating a business based on something they love will ensure that they won’t get bored. It can also help them connect with other people that enjoy the same interests.
My mermaid daughter on a rock in the middle of the Housatonic River.
Here are a few things she has learned:
- The basics of market research.
- How to create a profit / loss report.
- How to create a website.
- How to use WordPress for blogging.
- How to set up and use an Etsy account.
- Jewelry design – from sketching ideas and finding the materials to creating and finishing the product.
- How to set a fair price for a jewelry piece and make a profit.
- How to calculate international exchange rates.
- Basic photo editing.
- Reading and understanding traffic stats on her website.
Additionally, her blogging experience has helped her connect with readers (mostly her own age) all over the world who share her passion for being a real live mermaid.
Overall, starting this small business has been tons of fun and learning for us as a family. Never once has it felt like drudgery or work. And I’m looking forward to seeing where she takes it all from here!
For more information about all things mermaid, you can find her at Blue Moon Mermaid.
