Children should be encouraged to be generous from a young age. The act of donating gives a inner satisfaction and happiness. Teach the child the value of being humble. Here's how.
Let your child's generosity be channelised in the right direction.
India's 51st Republic Day witnessed havoc due to the massive earthquake. Mother Earth wreaked its fury on the Indian state of Gujarat and a nation watched horrorstruck as the death toll kept rising every hour. Millions of Indians reached out to help. And each one asked a question to oneself, "What can I do to help?" Did your child ask this question? You might think your child is too young to help anyone. But, it is always good to inculcate the habit of sharing and caring at a very early age. Here are some tips to help your child give a helping hand, in the right spirit, in the right direction.
Joy is the word
Teach children that there is joy in the act of giving. Giving should be selfless and the giver should not assume a philanthropic air. Newspapers are filled with advertisements stating that high-value donators will be given a mention. Use these examples to explain that the act of giving should be selfless.
Give and Forget
Teach your children not to brag about their donations and contributions in front of friends and relatives. The best policy is to give and forget about it. Tell them that these personal donations, in the event of major tragedies like the earthquake, are just a miniscule portion.
The Right People
Generous donations of a child have to be channelised in the right direction. If you are driving by the sea and a beggar asks for a coin, you must discourage your child from giving anything. Tell the child about the importance of working and earning your daily bread. Beggars have to be discouraged.
The Right Place
Teach your children to think before they give. For instance, the funds collected for the recent earthquake are going in the wrong directions. While some villages are flooded with give-away blankets, the rest are heaped with eatables. This makes crisis-management even more difficult. Your children should be made aware of these possibilities. They must also be told about the frauds committed by people while handling donations. If they are kept abreast with the truth, they will have the right perspective towards donations.
