Training Kids to Think of Others
What are your kids doing this summer? Chances are, your family has a full plate of activities planned, including camp, movies, sports and visits to the grandparents.
All parents want their children’s summer vacation to be a special and memorable time of adventure, learning and relaxation. Often that means lightening up on obligations and expectations. Yet many parents are discovering that the most valuable and exciting activities for kids often involve helping others.
Many avenues are available for children of all ages, as well as entire families, to make a difference in their local communities or even on a global scale.
I’ve written before about the wonderful organization Kids Care, which offers hundreds of caring projects for kids in communities across America. Kids Care is based on the premise that the caring instinct is like a muscle: It needs to be developed.
Your community, school or church may already have a Kids Care Club like the one in Derry, N.H., that has projects such as making friendship boxes for children of battered women and collecting or donating toys and clothes for children who’ve lost their homes in hurricanes and floods. Find out how to start your own Kids Care Club by writing Kids Care at P.O. Box 1083, New Canaan, CT 06840; calling (203) 972-6601; or visiting the Web site at https://www.kidscare.org. You don’t have to have a big group to have a club. In fact, Kids Care started with a small group of neighborhood kids who got together to rake the lawn of their elderly neighbor.
There are many opportunities for teenagers to volunteer for worthwhile projects at home and abroad. Teenagers can get involved in Habitat for Humanity in their own communities or elsewhere and participate in building affordable housing for those in need (121 Habitat St., Americus, GA 31709; (912) 924-6935; https://www.habitat.org).
The Points of Light Foundation Web site (https://www.pointsoflight.org) publishes great tips and other resources for individual families and their children about how to choose volunteer activities. There are plenty of good ideas here--from arranging a family service vacation to having meaningful discussions with your kids about the importance of lending a hand. Contact the Points of Light Foundation, 1400 I St. N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20005; (202) 729-8000.
If you’d like to get started helping to build your children’s caring muscles, you don’t have to join a big organization. Start small by making charity a part of the everyday flow of your family life. Here are some ideas for activities that you and your children can take on this summer to bring a little light into the lives of people in need, and a lot of satisfaction into your own.
* Write or read letters for elderly patients in nursing homes.
* Collect school supplies and make colorful back-to-school bags for children in homeless shelters.
* Volunteer to read stories to small children in hospitals.
* Collect toys, books, art supplies and old greeting cards and make play kits for children in hospitals.
* Clean up an empty lot or other community eyesore. Or spend a few hours cleaning your own block of any loose trash and curbside weeds.
* Help an elderly or infirm neighbor with shopping and yard work.
* Help out at a recycling center.
* Prepare and serve meals at a community shelter.
When you get your kids involved in projects like these, be sure to set aside time to talk with them about their experiences and celebrate their contribution.
One of the major steps we can take to simplify our lives is to eliminate the activities that aren’t fulfilling and create time for things that bring us real joy. Teaching your kids to think of others is one easy way to do that.
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Elaine St. James is the author of “Simplify Your Life” and “Simplify Your Life With Kids.” For questions or comments, write to her in care of Universal Press Syndicate, 4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111, or e-mail her at estjames@silcom.com.