3 Simple Ways to Teach Children About Charity

Last September, the Philippine capital was ravaged by a tragedy unprecedented the past 60 years. Typhoon Ondoy ravaged the metro with torrential rains, causing massive floods never been seen by the citizenry. This will forever be seared into everybody's minds, a bitter reminder of nature's wrath.

But there's a silver lining amidst all that happened; people joined up and did what they can to help out, and children did their part too. This made me realize how important it is to teach children about charity; it's an education that will mold them into better people. With this, I compiled 3 ways with which we could teach charity at home.

1. Schedule 'charity evenings'

Once a month, ask everyone in the family to bring out something that they would like to donate. Gather everyone in a circle and put a big box (and/or a piggy bank) in the middle. Ask each family member to stand up, share what they would like to donate, and explain why they want to give it away. After this, have the family member places his or her donation inside the box. Repeat at this until everyone has taken his or her turn, then end the evening with a board game, a movie, or a family activity . Come Christmas time, you could schedule a trip to an educational center or charitable institution to give the donations away.

2. Join or organize charity playdates

A few days after Typhoon Ondoy, Kids Ahoy, an online community of parents, teachers, and educationally-minded people, organized 'playdates' where kids helped out in sorting and packing donated goods that were to be distributed to relief centers. This, I believe, was a very powerful gesture because children experienced the art of giving first-hand. The effect was also multiplied because kids see other kids doing the same thing. It doesn't need to be big; a charity playdate can be for something as small a group as the children in your immediate neighborhood. You could also schedule this to be an annual event and vary the activities as needed.

3. Establish a 'charity center' at home

It doesn't need to be flashy; you're charity center could be just a small cork board in the kitchen that contains information about charity work. List down charitable institutions or have your children draw greeting cards they would like to give away to other children. It may also contain quotes about giving, or interesting charity events where everyone could attend. How you use your charity center is limited only by your imagination.