It’s essential to give back to your community by donating items whenever possible. Donating is a great way to declutter your home and put you in a positive mood. Your kids should have the opportunity to share that feeling and learn to support various causes. Consider these five ways to teach children about giving back.
Get Creative With Donating
Everyone has a preferred approach when giving to a foundation. Allow your child to explore different options for donating or raising money. Nurture their creative processes and let them develop their own way of giving back to the community.
Start From Your Current Location
Kids learn their most valuable lessons from parents, and there’s no better place to start teaching about charitable acts than right at home. Bring your family together to cultivate ideas for helping people in the neighborhood or creating a donation bin.
Establish a designated toy donation bin to benefit a local shelter or a children’s hospital. Every donation goes a long way.
Help a Family Out
When seeking volunteer opportunities, have your child choose from a list of local families to support this year. Many charities have programs that allow you to adopt an entire family or just the kids and deliver the things they want or need. This idea is particularly relevant during the holiday season.
Help your neighbors out, too. Giving back is more than donating things to others. It’s also giving your time to help a neighbor carry groceries or clean their front yard.
Do More Than Donate Money
Money is an essential asset for organizations, but only teaching your child about monetary donations creates a poorly-developed perspective on what can be donated. Encourage your kids to donate items, including clothes, toys, and used books.
Once they know what is acceptable for donation, they gain a better sense of giving back. This will also teach them how to declutter your entire home.
Help Them Connect
Children learn by example and emotion; for them to truly feel happy, you need to be satisfied as well. If they notice you getting upset at a volunteer who asks you to donate, they will react the same way as they get older.
Always keep a positive mindset when asked to donate. If you don’t have the time or funds, decline politely.
When deciding how to teach kids about giving back, remember this is all a learning process. As your children discover the importance of donating to charity, they become selfless and confident in their donating endeavors.
