4 Ways to Teach Children the Value of Giving Back

Most people would love their children to become assets to society and give back. Altruism, however, is not something that is ingrained in everyone or that can be easily taught. Sure, you can try to force your children to donate money to charity or drag them to a volunteer event, but if their heart isn’t in it, it could make things worse. This is why you’ll have to work a little bit harder to find ways to make giving back interesting to them. Let’s take a look at a few ways to teach children the value of helping others.

Identify Causes that are Dear to Them and Learn about them

The first thing you should do is look at your child’s interests and see if you can find a cause that they can connect to. A lot of children are concerned about the environment, for instance, or have a natural love for animals. This could be a good starting point to find causes they can learn more about, as well as any initiatives they could take.

Another thing you could do is try to find issues that affect children of their age specifically. They will naturally connect more to the suffering of people they can relate to, so try to look at charities that tackle things like childhood-related illnesses, poverty here or abroad, or education initiatives, among others.

Contact a Local Charity

Once you’ve found a cause that they love, you should get in touch with a charity in your area and see if you can book in for a visit. Most charities allow people to come to see their facility and speak with a representative. Make sure that the charity in question is respected and known for its great work. Also, ask if there are any charity events that the whole family can participate in.

Start a Charity with Them

Alternatively, you could start a charity of your own. It doesn’t have to be big; it could be a simple charity trying to deal with a specific issue in your community. Not only will it show your child how to be responsible, but it will also show them how charities operate, how they can impact society, and maybe encourage them to become philanthropists as they get older.

Become a Foster Parent

Another thing you could do is become a foster parent. Helping someone outside of your family and making them part of your own will show your children how one gesture could change someone’s entire life. They’ll also be more in tune with the experiences of others and might be more empathetic towards those from less fortunate backgrounds.

If this is something that interests you, all you need is to be over 21 years old, be a UK citizen or have indefinite leave to remain, have a room available and the means and capacity to care for a child. You must also be able to meet the foster care agency’s or local authority’s admission requirements. If you want to know more about the process and work through a private organisation, you should check out orangegrovefostercare.co.uk.

All of these things will help you raise children who want to contribute to society and help others. The most important thing is to teach by example and show them how enriching giving back can be.