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Raising Children Who Care in Times that Need It
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Source: NY Times
July 03, 2009
Excerpt: "A few years ago, a friend of my son’s asked that, instead of getting him presents for his 11th birthday, guests donate to a certain charity. I asked my son if he would like to do something similar for his birthday. He looked at me and said flatly, “No.” He wanted the presents. While I admired the birthday boy’s initiative, I have to say I sympathized with my son. I like to give and get presents, too.But like most parents, I also want my sons to evolve into caring citizens who are aware of and want to help others. It’s not always easy to find the right way to do it — to walk the fine line between opening their eyes and guilt-tripping, between understanding the differences and needs of others and patronizing them."
DemonicButterfly
4 months ago
320 comments
A good way to involve your children ... and have them still get prezies... pick a non-holiday and make it a "get involved holiday" volunteer at a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, make a day of choosing toys and/or clothing and donating them to a battered women/childrens shelter. any of these ways will help children to see that there are blessings in their life to be grateful for, and to realize that there are lots less fortunate than them, and neither of these ways are in any way patronizing to those you are helping. another way is to clean out the pantry and donate food to local food banks, they can help choose foods that they like, that children who arent as blessed might enjoy. as i mentioned.. make a day of it, let them help choose what you do, give them praise for helping someone else in need. I'm with you on the liking to give and get presents, tis a hard thing to ask of a child, whether they are spoiled like mine were or not. I used all the things i mentioned over the years while my girls were growing up. As well as christmas, they chose the names from the local christmas tree, did the shopping for the gift and did the wrapping and delivering to the drop off area.
hope this gave a few ideas not thought of already. Lina