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Six Winning Ways to Educate Your Kids about Charitable Giving

How do your educate your kids when it comes to charitable giving? Be aware that such lessons as kindness, generosity, compassion and selflessness do not come out of any textbooks and these lessons are often learned from the teachings of others closet to the children. It is important to develop a charitable spirit in your children from an early age in order that charitable giving will become an important part of their lives. Let us look at six winning ways to educate your kids about charitable giving.

Number One
The first way is to make sure you are a model parent who shows your children what the virtues of kindness and giving to your fellow human beings is all about. How will your child learn to be generous and kind if they do not observe you doing those things? Be an excellent role model and your children will learn from this. Studies have shown that children come to enjoy doing good for other people when they are able to observe their parents doing the same.

Number Two
Make sure your love for your children translates into action. Teach your children that with love comes the necessity for action and for responsibilities to both their families as well as people at large. Get involved in activities in your community, be they big or small and make sure your children are a part of them too so they will learn the value of giving back to the world.

Number Three
Teach your children about life’s many precious gifts that have no price tag before you teach them about monetary giving. For example teach your children about the gift of a smile, a hug, laughter, kind words and reaching out to hold someone’s hand. Teach your children the gift of encouragement, praise and support.

Number Four
Create opportunities for charitable traditions to be started within the family. There are many different ways this can be done and it is up to you to decide what will work best for your family. One suggestion is to divide up the allowance you give your children into thirds- designate one –third for their spending pleasure, one-third for their savings for future purchases and the final third for a charitable cause.

Number Five
Allow your children to have a say in what charity or charities you will donate to. Designate a certain time to sit down, as a family to discuss what charitable contributions will be made to where. Teach your children what it means to be a philanthropist. For example you might want to deem Thanksgiving Day as the day you decide what charities to donate money and/or time to in the upcoming year.

Number Six
When your children show any type of charitable spirit or nature, encourage them and praise them. Praise your children for the kindness they show to others by the words you use to express how you feel about their thoughtful actions as well as giving them a great big hug. If your kids show an interest in a particular cause, whether it be something that is going on in the neighborhood, such as a food or clothing drive for a family whose home burnt to the ground or something on more of a global scale then teach them everything you know in words they can understand so that they will gain a greater understanding of how important it is to help others. You might want to take them to the library and teach them further if this is a subject that has captivated their interest. There are also plenty of websites you can go to with your child to learn more about the particular charitable cause that has got their attention.