Teaching Children to Give
Children start out with a desire to make other people happy. As they grow, selfishness can overtake that desire. Teaching them to give, means teaching them that something good comes from doing so, and from teaching them not to fear working.
Since we homeschool our children, we have the flexibility to teach our children things that we'd not be able to do as well if they were in school all day. Part of our curriculum has always been community service. We have encouraged our children to help others, whether they get paid or not. The benefits to our children have been amazing.
They shovel snow in the winter, and will often do so for free for those whom they know need it. When they bake, they look for someone to take a goodie to. They make charitable donations from their earnings, and they participate in organized projects through Boy Scouts - even though only my boys are members, my girls often go with them to do a work project. The older kids have helped people move in, or out, of our town, and have done odd jobs as volunteers for many people here.
We don't beat them into doing any of these things. We have taught them that if they give, it comes back to them. They have proven this many times over.
Because they work for people free when they need it, they are known throughout the town as good workers - they get a lot of paid work as a result. We have never paid them an allowance, but our older kids have all the money they need, for spending money, and even to begin to purchase some of their own clothing.
They were well enough known that when our youngest son was diagnosed with leukemia, and many people in town wanted to give us gifts one Christmas, that the people who gave them actually knew who the kids were, and could choose personal items for them.
Beyond that, our children have benefited by the knowledge that they can work. When life gets hard, they know they can roll up their sleeves and get the job done.
Teaching children to give generously involves both teaching them how and why, and setting a good example for them. I don't know that our example has been all that great, but I do know that our children know how to give unselfishly to others. And I know that it has blessed them richly.
Written by Laura Wheeler
Owner, Firelight Web Studio
http://www.firelightwebstudio.com
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