At this time of the year we are reminded to give thanks for the good things in our lives. It’s also a great time to teach kids to be giving and grateful.
Here are a number of ideas this holiday as well as throughout the year to teach kids to give back. Many of these suggestions don’t require a lot of work, are fun and can help create an even stronger bond as a family unit.
Start the Conversation
Teaching the basics of giving with Saving and Giving Jars
The premise is simple: have two jars – one designated for saving and the other for giving. Depending on your child’s allowance or age, you can have them allocate a certain amount of money each time they put money in the jar. For example $1 means 90 cents for saving and then 10 cents for giving.
Santa Letters
Writing Santa letters makes a great way to talk about giving to kids less fortunate than your own. I have a great free printable for Santa letters you can print off and start the conversation today.
Make a Thankful Tree
With two kids under the age of 7, it seems like they wouldn’t be able to understand that not everyone lives in a home with a family and served three meals every day. But by asking them what things they are grateful for can be a great conversation starter. This tree is easy to put together and I’ve seen several versions of them – some are drawn on paper, some are painted with handprints, but for this one, we gather sticks from outdoors and talked about what we were thankful for. When I explained that some kids don’t have their favorite named toy or even a mama, they begin to ask questions and are primed for talking about the importance of giving back.
“I am Thankful…”at Galleria Dallas
“I AM THANKFUL FOR…” PRESENTED BY THE EURASIAN ASSOCIATION OF DFW
Level 2, Martin Lawrence Galleries
The exhibit displays the meaning of Thanksgiving among children of different cultures, with works grouped in different age categories: Under 5 years, 5-7 years, 8-10 years, 11-14 years, and 15-18 years.
Opens today – Dec. 7
http://www.galleriadallas.com
No Matter their Age, Kids Can Help to Give
Crafting for Good
Crafts are actually a great way to help children learn about giving. For instance, they can create a place mats or a centerpiece to put in with your Pantry Box for Metrocrest Services. On the website they provide a list of what they need and you can purchase them, put in the placemats and they will stock them in their pantry or during the holidays, they will pack them with the holiday food deliveries. If you prefer, you can actually attend a Family Night and for an hour the organization will do a family craft for 30 minutes and the family can stock the pantry with donated goods.
http://www.metrocrestservices.org
Collecting Everyday Goods
Toilet paper, paper towels, toothpaste – these are all things we take for granted. But at the Arlington Life Shelter, individuals and families that don’t have anywhere to live are provided these basics necessities to help them sleep somewhere warm and receive a warm meal while getting the skills they needs to get back out there. They always post their current needs list online and on their billboard, so you can have the kids put together the box and on your designated day, make the drop off.
http://arlingtonlifeshelter.org
Be on Their Level
Adopt an Angel and Toys for Tots
A tradition for many families and organizations at the holiday, you can get in the sprit of giving on a level kids can really understand since you are giving to kids in your child’s age range. You can find Adopt an Angel trees in shopping centers throughout DFW, but some families are so busy they can’t get to the tree! So they’ve made it easy and you now can adopt a kid online, make your purchase and then drop of them off at a designated locations. And Toys for Tots, which FOX 4 is a sponsor of, is a phenomenal organization led by the US Marines. The process gives your kids a hands-on opportunity to buy the gifts they want for the age they want and then drop them off for distribution.
Host a Giving Party
Instead of having guests to a holiday party or for your child’s birthday party, ask guests to bring gifts to give to a charity your child chooses. For instance, you could hold a PJ Party and ask guests to give blankets or teddy bears. Many organizations need both of those for patients at children’s hospitals like Children’s Health. Once year we asked for socks for teens and they were given to kids in the hospital so they had something fun to keep their feet warm and are fun!
Teaching Good Means Being Good
Be a Good Example of Giving
Remember kids learn by watching so be a good example. December 2 is #Giving Tuesday, a global initiative to raise money for nonprofits #GivingTuesday is a global giving campaign.Your generous donations will not only allow us to continue fulfilling wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses and provide them an experience of a lifetime at Give Kids The World, but they will also count twice! An anonymous donor will match every donation made on #GivingTuesday, up to $20,000.
www.gktw.org/givingtuesday (This donation page will only be accessible on December 2nd and will be open for 24 hours. )
Amanda says
Great job!
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
Those are all great suggestions. I donated food with my kids the other weekend!
Amy Desrosiers says
My husband and I make sure to let our kids know not everyone has food. We love for them to be part of most donation processes.
Kelly Hutchinson says
My son and I just participated in the Angel Tree at our local Walmart.
Daisy says
I didn’t know about “I am Thankful…”at Galleria Dallas. I’ll have to take my son.
Sarah B says
These are all great ideas!! We have done a “giving party” for my daughter’s first two birthdays and it’s been a success! It’s very important to me that she learns about helping those in need from an early age!
Tammi @ My Organized Chaos says
Great post, these are things I hope I’m instilling in my kids. Such great life lessons and traits!
Liz Mays says
I think it’s a really important thing to teach giving. It’s also important that we teach it throughout the year, not just during the holidays. 🙂
Mama to 5 BLessings says
My kids are very generous and give to a lot to our missions in our church. They have even cleaned out whole piggy banks before to help.
Shauna says
What great tips. We have started collecting toys to give to children in need and of course, talking about what we are thankful for. It is so important.
Emily @ Baby Dickey says
Great ideas – I love the giving and saving jars, we might have to do that! Our kids are young (4 and 2) but we still try to teach them now… I like the thankful tree!
Dawn says
These are some really great tips. I always think it’s good to get children started in being thankful and teach them to give back at a young age!
Brandy says
These are great ideas on instilling gratefulness into children, I am all about leading by example and I love having grateful children. It’s so important for all of our future!
Shell says
This is so important. Teaching kids to be grateful can lead to them growing up to be giving, kind adults.
kristin says
I love being able to show our kids how important it give instead of always getting. They do such an amazing job on thier own.
Krista says
I always try to be the example of giving for my daughter. Now that she is older she is catching on and I am seeing her give more and more. She is such a great kid and I am very proud of her for understanding the importance of giving.
Nancy Lustri says
Loved your post. We try to make it a point to do something as a family at least twice a year, and give back.
Gwen says
We always take our grand kids (10 and 7) Christmas shopping to buy toys for less fortunate children. This year we are also going to make a fun care package to send to a deployed family member. They will love it!
Nolie says
Those are all great ideas. Our school is does a food fundrasier every year and then we donate the food.
Ann Bacciaglia says
These are all great ideas. I like the idea of a thankful tree. I will have to share this with my friend that has little ones.
Kristin Wheeler (@MamaLuvsBooks) says
I love this! It’s so important to teach kids gratitude and how to receive and give gifts.
Tiffany (A Mom's Take) says
Wow, this is a powerful post. It is so important to teach our children the power of giving and being grateful.
Maria says
This is so wonderful! And, the quote by Picasso is something that the artists in my family live by.
Onica {MommyFactor| says
Lots of great ideas and tips to help teach kids to be less selfish. Kids just need some examples and guidance. This can help.
Dede says
I love the idea of having a “giving” party. We would like to do a Christmas party but don’t want people to bring us gifts. This would be a good solution.