How Parents Can Teach Kids to Give Back

As the mother to two young pre-teen girls, I often marvel at how fortunate we are to provide them not only with the creature comforts, like food, a residence, and education, but also things they want on the holidays and all the “in-style” things they ask for on their birthdays. Often, even when they are being good girls, I tell them, “Do you know there are children in the world who don’t have what you have?” Now, as with most “tween” kids, this, I’m sure, just goes in one ear and out the other.

So, with all the recent world events, like Occupy Wall Street, the tsunami in Asia, and even the nightly news coverage of unrest and rebellion in the Middle East, I have opted as a parent to point out to them that there are children in those situations. Usually, I have found that with a visual reference point of a news story, the kids seem to get it a little more. Most recently, the kids, after seeing footage of the tornado damage in Joplin, Missouri, opted to have a lemonade sale to raise money for those victims. That was a proud moment for me as a mom! And that just was inspired by a conversation around the evening news.

Another great idea is to encourage your kids to get involved in cleaning out their closet and sorting out their toys. Bring them along when you donate those items to a shelter or even to a local day care. My kids have really enjoyed the feeling of handing over those “gently used” items, and my youngest daughter even commented that she felt better knowing those things would be loved by another little girl. Most often we do this right after Christmas – that way I can tell the kids to make room for all the goodies Santa brought!

And like everything else, children learn what they live. As a family, we have all participated in charities, and parents can do this in whatever way works with their schedule. For us, my husband has volunteered with our church and also has participated in a build for Habitat for Humanity. Most companies encourage their employees to volunteer, and for my husband, that was a great opportunity for him to show our girls that it’s important to give back. As for myself, the kids see me give of my time and energy at their school, but also I have served on the board of a local charity. I always try to bring home stories of the kids’ lives we have touched, and when my kids hear it from my perspective, it seems to resonate.

All in all, most parents encourage our kids to be kind, look out for others, and be considerate. With this in mind, it’s easy to go from that lesson to the next step of actively giving back.


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