Teaching Children to be Joyful Givers

In a world of "me","I" and "mine", my heart is heavy towards teaching my children to be givers... not out of a sense of obligation, but joyfully and without any expectation of anything in return. How does one best accomplish this?

I have a couple thoughts to share. First off, I'm striving to model this behavior for my children. I can remember my own parents giving when we were young. Not to show off, not to gain favor from God, but because we had enough to share and it was the right thing to do. I appreciated from an early age that there were needs in the world that could only be met through the generosity of others. I also recognized, either on my own or from a lesson I've sense forgotten that everything in the world belongs to God, not to us... so it only made sense to give when we could. We weren't rich... not by a mile, but that made the giving even more substantial in my mind. It taught me from a very early age that we were supposed to take care of one another, no matter what. I also learned early on how good it felt to give.

By nature, we are selfish. Aren't we? Giving really is something that must be learned, especially when the giving is done for the right reasons. It's sometimes not such a sacrifice to give when we know we'll be publicly recognized, even privately. What about when we're not recognized at all? Oh, I think it's beautiful! If we can give, especially anonymously, we must be doing it for all the right reasons.

So, what are a few ways our children can learn the thrill of being a giver? Here are some ideas...

1. Have your child sponsor a starving child from anywhere in the world. They can use a portion of their own allowance to save the life of someone they've never met. If their allowance isn't enough to accomplish this, give them a raise in pay just to insure it will be enough.

2. Participate in Operation Christmas Child this fall. Let you children help fill a shoebox and share the excitement of giving a child what is likely their very first Christmas gift. Additionally, your child should know that this is a ministry and that the child receiving the shoebox will be taught about Jesus Christ.

3. Create homemade cards at each holiday and take them to welcoming nursing homes and hospitals. Call first, just to be sure it's ok.

4. Take a home baked desert to a neighbor... just because you were thinking of them. This one should probably not be done anonymously! I can only imagine finding brownies on my front porch with no note... you can probably imagine where they'd end up!

5. Volunteer to help at your church or any organization you attend where you child can witness the cheerful donation of your time. Don't feel like volunteering? Your child will sense this even if you try your best to hide those feelings... not to worry though, it makes your involvement even more spectacular. Giving is a sacrifice after all and it's totally ok to be real.

6. Every year set aside a date to sit down with your children and go through their toy box. Have them remove a couple toys that they no longer play with to donate to the Salvation Army or any non-profit organization that could benefit from them. This will also help combat the clutter problem so many of us have.

7. Reinforce the joy of giving by praising your children when they give something to you or when you witness them giving to others... especially when it's their idea. Sure the praise could be considered payment for their positive actions, but children should be encouraged and rewarded for their efforts... shouldn't they? ; )

Honestly, there are countless ways to model generosity... you'll likely find unique and creative ways to demonstrate joyful giving, regardless of your budget. If you have ideas, be sure to share!