Teaching your children to be generous is essential for parents to do. As they grow, generous people will find more fulfilment in life, they will be happier, and they will be kind. These are all important traits. They will be able to make their own lives better and improve the lives of other people. Yet, it can be hard to know quite how to show a child how to be generous. It can be done, though. Here are some ideas to put into practice.

Help Your Neighbors 

There are people all around you who might need a little help from time to time. You might have an older neighbor who is sick and needs some help with grocery shopping, cooking food, tidying their yard, or who just needs someone to talk to now and then. Or, perhaps you have a neighbor who is on vacation, and they need someone to water their plants and feed their fish.

These are just a few examples, but there are plenty more. If your child (and you, depending on how much supervision is needed) can help these people in any way, they will be showing a certain level of generosity – they will be using their time. Make this a habit, and generosity will become a normal part of their lives.

Praise Acts of Generosity 

Sometimes a child will do something generous without being told to or taught to. They might bring you flowers or share a toy or snack with a sibling, for example. Look out for these moments, as you can use them to teach your child that being generous is worthwhile.

Whenever you see that your child has done something generous, make sure you praise them. They must know why you are giving them praise, so it must be linked to whatever it is they did. In this way, they’ll associate you being happy with them being generous, and they’ll keep doing it. If for example you’re religious and want to take it further, you can link this generous act to the bible and how it keeps in with the Christian faith. You can explain to them that giving is receiving as covered by Acts 20:35, perhaps even reading them the verse so that they understand what they are doing is viewed as good by even Christ and that it feels just as good as being given something themselves.

Research a Charity to Give To 

Giving to charity is a very generous thing to do, and it’s easy as well. You and your child can take some time to research the charity or charities that mean the most to you and then give that charity some money. You might have veterans in your family, for example, and, therefore, it would make sense to make American veterans donations. Think about what means the most to you and what your child would understand and work out how much you can give.

By giving to charity, you’re making a difference in other people’s lives, and even if you don’t see the results first-hand, you can still investigate just what your money will do, and ensure your child gets the sense of satisfaction that comes with being generous in this way.

Donate Toys and Clothes 

Children often have a lot of toys and clothes. Parents usually buy a lot of these things, but they will also be given them by friends and relatives. Just think of the birthday parties your child has and all the gifts they receive then, for example.

The reality is that they won’t be able to use everything, and often, they’ll outgrow clothes without even wearing them. Why not make it a regular task to go through their drawers and wardrobe or toy chests and remove anything they no longer want? Not only will this free up space, but you can also take those items to a charity store and donate them. This will show your child yet another way to be generous.