In a world motivated by greed and driven by teh "almighty dollar," the "me me me" and how much can I get? It is a really difficult thing to teach your children how to balance what they want with what they need and how to give to others.
Having three children, reaching this age of the "gimmies" it is becoming a bigger issue. When they were younger, we made a big deal of helping others whenever we could. When we were grocery shopping and noticed a beggar on the way in, we would buy him or her something to eat and drink while shopping.
Once Natalie happened to notice someone while we were at McDonalds. She decided that he would want a hamburger meal so she asked if we could by him one. So we did. Unfortunately, this story didn't end well, the man didn't want the food and rejected the gift from my child's hands. She was so upset. I can still remember how angry I was. To this day, I'm not sure I used the right words to explain why to my girls, but I hope so.
We still try and feed people who need it. Natalie hasn't lost the spunk to want to help others and I am so glad. I hope she never does. One thing I hope my girls never forget is to give back. We have been so incredibly blessed by others, I pray that I am able to give them the ability to see that.
What do you do to teach your children to give?
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