Dear Dr. Ellen: My husband and I are both struggling to make ends meet. We live from paycheck to paycheck. I worry a great deal that my kids, ages 3, 4 and 7 don't have a lot of toys and nice clothes. It was especially hard on them during this holiday season when they watched TV and every new toy was advertised and every home looked like Martha Stewart came to decorate. Every time we have to explain that what they want is too expensive, it breaks my heart. Will they grow up resenting us for having them and then not being able to give them things that other kids have? - Jan

Dear Jan: The best gift you can ever give your children is belief in themselves. This is done by always praising them and surrounding them with love, not by giving them toys and nice clothes. The happiest, most well adjusted children come from a home where there is love. Remember this always "A shack can be a mansion when love lives there, and a palace can be a prison without love." Getting books from the library and reading to them, taking long walks and pointing out the beauty in nature, spending time talking to them, listening to them, going on picnics, smiles, hugs and kisses will be what your children will remember and feel blessed for having both of you as parents. - Dr. Ellen