With Christmas just around the corner, the air is full of the giving spirit! But who says giving and generosity can only be practised during the holidays?
Here’s how you can raise your own little Santa who loves to give gifts the whole year round!
Without a doubt, the best way to teach kids is to lead by example. At our Brookvale child care centre, we make it a point to show our kids how to be more generous by starting from ourselves. From snacks to toys, our educators expose them to the importance of sharing early on.
How you speak to your children about generosity can greatly impact their perception of it. Instead of saying “you should help others,” try saying “sharing your lunch makes you a good helper.” By using “helper” instead of to help, you’re putting emphasis on the doer and not the act.
Always remember to speak about helping and generosity! The constant reminder will soon become a part of their system.
While we understand the importance of generosity, at our childcare centres in Sydney, we make sure not to force it upon them. There are reasons why a child may be reluctant to share (such as a pet recently dying) and forcing them to share may backfire on you. Understand that for this day, the child may be needing the toy as a security blanket and just try again tomorrow.
Story book characters can have a huge impact on children’s outlooks! Our child care centres are full of books with generous characters that we often read to our kids. They just love listening to the stories and applying the same generous qualities every day.
A great way to instill generosity in your kids is to make it a part of their routine! Have a give jar at home where your kids can drop coins, no matter how small the amount. Make sure to show them you’re dropping money in it as well!
Reinforce generosity by making it a family tradition. Volunteer at soup kitchens or nursing homes. For Christmas, you can empty the give jar as a family and count how much you’ve all saved. As your kids to help you pick out what toys to donate to your local shelter. They’ll be more than happy to give if they can play an active role in it!
In times of materialism, we need more giving children than ever. Let’s work together to raiselittle Santas that can make a big difference in the world.
