Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Raising Kids Who Care

The December issue of Reader’s Digest has a story on how to raise kids who care.
Here are two ways featured in the article:


-Start them young: A mother from Darien, Connecticut got her 3 children involved in various volunteer organizations through Kids Care Clubs when her oldest was just 10 years old (now 20). They all took different paths, but they carried those lessons throughout their adolescence and are each still involved with volunteer work.

-Involve their friends: A mother from Lake Oswego, Oregon attended a mother-daughter meeting of the National Charity League in an attempt to have more quality time with her two young children. The kids didn’t go willingly, but once they knew their friends were involved, they felt more comfortable. The eldest child, now 23, is in her second year with Teach for America. She remembers that her peer involvement from when she was younger made the experience fun and cool.

Here's the link to the article.

I do talk to my kids about donating toys and other things to the needy. I get so aggravated when they don't take good care of them and there are certainly toys that have hardly been used. I remember my five-year-old giving me this old, beat up toy that was from McDonald's and he was like, "Okay, mom. I found a toy we can give to the kids who don't have any." He was so sad to see it go. I was trying not to giggly and let him know this toy was junk. I just smiled and said, "Thanks for being so generous." I need to do more of that!

How do you teach your kids to care?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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3 comments:

Maria said...

My son's birthday is really close to Christmas, so his birthday party in December is a charity party. We collect items instead of gifts and take them to a local charity (diapers, clothes, etc). The first year was supposed to be last year, but we had an ice storm that knocked out our power for almost two weeks, so the party was canceled. I'm excited to do it this year and hope to make it a tradition!

Jen Christensen said...

That's amazing Maria. What a great idea!

Anonymous said...

I started my son out at a young age to help others. Every year around birthdays and Christmas we go through his toys and donate them. Also, I am very active in raising money for various charities. Easter Seals is one that comes to mind. By the way, there is a shopping event at the Holiday Inn City Center on Saturday do benefit Easter Seals. I've also become a part of adoptaussoldier.org and we send care packages to 3 different soldiers. I often ask my son's class to make cards for the soldiers. That way everyone gets involved.

 
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