Today is Giving Tuesday, but I’m not going to ask you to give to any particular organizations. (They’re probably already bombarding your inbox.) Instead, I’ll ask you to think about the ways in which we instill giving habits into our kids.
My spouse Helen and I have done a number of things to show our son the importance of giving back:
- We ask for his input when we give to organizations. Helen and I have a number of organizations we annually contribute to, but we also ask our son what type of organization he would like us to support. We think it’s important for him to see us making a habit of donating, but we also want him to understand that he can give to causes that mean something to him.
- We ask him to put spare change into a family pot that we use to purchase groceries for a local food pantry. When it accumulates, we’ll go to the store and I’ll let him figure out what makes sense to buy, in terms of perishability, value, and need. When he was younger, I’d guide him heavily; at 15, though, he needs much less help.
- We participate as a family in our Reform Jewish congregation’s social justice events, such as assembling lunches for donation to a local transitional living center and distributing holiday groceries to homebound people in need.
- We have him help collect our old clothes and bring them to a donation center each year.
- We made a point of having him do a social justice project as part of his bar mitzvah preparation—he chose to collect supplies for a local animal shelter and volunteer there.
- As he gets older, we try to make him aware of the broader social systems that make giving a necessity. What makes some people poor and others not? Are some people more or less likely to have opportunities? What can change in a person’s life that makes them need charitable assistance? Which organizations are having a positive difference on civil and human rights? On medical progress? On the arts? Why is this needed? We don’t tackle this all in one conversation, but as the opportunity arises, we paint a broader picture.
These are hardly the only ways to instill giving habits in children, simply a few that we’ve tried in our household. Leave your own experiences and ideas in the comments!