Teaching Your Children About Philanthropy
Alexander Neumeister gives advice on teaching children about charitable work
Philanthropy should never be something that an individual does after they become rich or successful. On the contrary, it should be something that every person does on some level, regardless of what their individual financial state is. Philanthropy comes in all varieties such as making a monetary donation, donating time or labor, teaching, or donating goods. The best way to teach a person to take on a more philanthropic perspective in life is to instill a giving nature in them while they are still young and impressionable.
Why is it Important to Teach Children About Philanthropy?
It is widely understood that behavioral patterns established in young children become neurologically hardwired into them and remain in place for the rest of their lives. That includes both good behavioral patterns and bad behavioral patterns. With that in mind, it should be really important to every parent out there to hardwire a giving and generous nature into their children from the onset of their lives. Being a giving person has so many benefits. Generous people tend to think much less of their own needs over the needs of others, making them much less prone to narcissistic personality disorders. Generous people tend to be happier overall when compared to extremely selfish people that are obsessively fixated on their own needs and wants. Generous and philanthropic people tend to have more friends and are generally viewed more favorably amongst the friends that they have.
How to Teach a Child About Philanthropy?
The best way to teach a child how to be philanthropic is to lead by example. Before a child is even old enough to understand what it means to be “giving”, parents should already begin working hard to illustrate a giving and generous spirit in front of their children. Once children reach an age where they can understand the basics involved in giving, it is a great idea to include them in philanthropic activities. Philanthropy that children can involve themselves in includes donating their time to converse with elderly people. They can also help out while adults are conducting their own philanthropic endeavors, such as handing out food to the needy, helping a disabled person do basic household chores or raking leaves at a church or school. As long as you are creative you will discover that there is nearly an unlimited number of ways to teach philanthropy to children.
This article was originally published on alexanderneumeister.org.