Teaching Kids to Give Generously

Teaching My Children to Give Generously

I never planned on that very ordinary spring day to provide a teaching moment, yet that’s exactly how it turned out. I had just loaded my children into the car after a doctor’s appointment and a man, wearing tattered clothes, approached in a wheelchair. He asked if we had any food to spare, and I shared what I had to give: a sack lunch prepared for a picnic and a bakery donut I’d bought for my grandma. Joy filled his eyes when he realized the donut was cream-filled. The man was physically disabled but his humanity was displayed in a warm, thankful smile.

As I helped the man, three of my young children sat in the back of the car watching. To be honest in that moment I forgot they were there. Ages 3 to 6-years-old as we drove away they excitedly shared other ways they wanted to help the man. One of my daughters wanted to give her savings from her coin bank to him. My son wanted to share his bunkbed. Together we decided that while sharing a bunkbed wouldn’t work my children could use their savings to purchase items to create care bags. With a trip to the store, they purchased granola bars, toothbrushes, bottles of water, candy and mints and even socks. We packaged them up and keep these bags in the car.

Even years later, my children are excited to find people to extend compassion to. That one interaction was a first step to helping my children grow generous hearts. If you desire to have you children look beyond themselves to the needs of others, here are a few places to start:

Click over to the ECCU blog where I share 3 ways you can help your children look beyond themselves to the needs of others.

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