The Money Couple Minute - Get Your Kids Excited About Giving
Every parent wants to raise compassionate, generous children. And many families look for ways to give to others, especially during the holiday season. Yet we often approach giving as a chore rather than a privilege-we grumble about the money or worry aloud that we might be giving too much when we are barely scraping by ourselves.Giving to others doesn't have to be the financial equivalent of eating your vegetables. With the right approach, practicing generosity can build family unity, develop a deep sense of compassion in your kids, and teach them invaluable financial communication skills that will carry over into their everyday lives.
Talk together about why you believe in giving to others. How do you feel when you share what you have? Why does giving make you feel good? How do you budget your money and time to make sure you can give to others? Then choose a family project. Here are a few of our favorites ways to give any time of the year:
- Give a gift. Decide what age child you'd like to give your gift to-preschooler, elementary, teenager. Then decorate a shoebox with cheerful wrapping paper, stickers, or artwork. Go to the dollar store and have your kids pick five gifts for the child. Pack up your box and bring it to a local charity so they can pass it on to a child in need. (Go to samaritanspurse.org for drop-off locations.)
- Serve a meal. Rescue missions, churches, even local businesses often serve meals to the working poor and homeless. Work like this puts a human face on the concept of giving, helping kids understand that everyone needs help now and then. Organizations like The United Way (www.liveunited.org) can help you find opportunities to volunteer in your area.
- Help each other. Charity really does start at home. Have your children make "gift cards" for other people in the family. Have fun and get creative. They can give hugs, an offer to unload the dishwasher, homework help for a sibling, a car wash, dog walking, back rubs, no whining for a week, or other age-appropriate contributions.
- Give up to give out. Sometimes being generous means sacrificing our own wants for a time. Challenge everyone in the family (that means grown-ups too!) to give up something they love-TV, video games, dessert, lattes-to earn money for a favorite charity. Decide how much you want to contribute for each day you go without-a dollar a day perhaps? At the end of the week, donate your challenge money to the charity of your choice.
Here's Another Idea From One of Our Readers
"Just yesterday our kids took some money they had been saving for a few months and used it to each buy their own assortment of hats, gloves and socks. My husband and I bought our own pile too. We handed out over 40 pairs of gloves, 40 hats and 40 socks to the homeless people standing outside. The kids had their own bags and got to individually hand them out. The worst part was that there were still more people we didn't get to bless because we ran out, so we are thinking of doing it again."
Let us know if you have any other ideas to communicate good giving habits to your kids. info@themoneycouple.com
