Generosity
We all want our children to be generous. There are some
people, in fact, who believe that our purpose on earth is to grow by
giving to each other, an idea I find inspiring and beautiful.
But
forcing someone to be generous just makes him resentful. Worse
yet, it internalizes the sense that he must be a very bad boy indeed if
he doesn’t want to share like a good boy. (For a insightful
description of how being guilted into generosity can undermine self
esteem, check out how young Laura is taught to share -- and feel bad
about herself -- in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.)
Generosity
starts with a feeling of having plenty, and develops as we have
experiences of making others happy by giving to them. Our job as
parents is to help our kids to have those experiences. How?
1. Model generosity.
Give to the panhandler, bake pies for the elderly at
Thanksgiving. Share your ice cream with your toddler.
Donate to a worthy cause in honor of a special occasion. Make
giving a part of your daily life.
2. Make sure your child's normal needs to be seen, appreciated, and adored are met. We can only give when we're full inside.
3. Give your child the opportunity to experience how his actions can create joy in others.
This usually begins with parents; you give him the gift of seeing you
respond to a gift of his – such as a card he’s made you
– by letting him see the tears in your eyes as you read it.
4. Don’t force them to share before they’re ready.
Insisting that a two year old share before she’s ready is likely
to backfire. My friend John points out that asking his two
year old daughter to share her favorite toys is like asking him to
share his treasured violin with friends who visit. Be particularly careful about insisting that siblings share, which can undermine their relationship. For more on
Sharing, see Social Intelligence for Toddlers.
5.
Every child deserves the
pleasure of giving her own money to a worthy cause. Try giving a
little extra weekly allowance that goes in a special "charity" jar, and
letting her give it away every year on her birthday.
6. Have a Charity night. You could call it something with more
resonance for your kids, like Gift for the World Night, or Tzedakah
Night (the Jewish equivalent that means restoring Justice). Let your
kids make a “Wish List” of all the ways they’d like to make the world a
better place. Then let each person in the family choose one thing to
do to address one of those issues. For instance, you might make a
donation to Hurricane Relief, plan to volunteer at a soup kitchen
together, and make a commitment to reduce your carbon emissions by
buying more efficient light bulbs.
7.
Volunteer as a family. My kids and I volunteer at a local soup
kitchen, and my kids love feeling like they’re making a difference in
these folks’ lives. It also helps them feel better when they see a
homeless person, to know that person can go get a hot meal at “our”
soup kitchen. What can kids do? Sort food at a food bank. Help you
deliver Meals on Wheels. Organize a book drive and ship the books off to
Reader to Reader.
8. Start while your kids are young, so your kids take community involvement for granted. As they get into their teen years, they’ll find worthy causes of their own.
9. Share the idea that giving to others is one of the reasons we're alive. And one of the ways we can all make the world a better place.
Eventually, if your child is lucky, she will learn from experience that making someone else happy by giving to them is truly more rewarding to her than receiving a gift herself.
