The Altruistic Child

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

01 Sep 2006 06:00 AM

How do you teach your toddler to understand the joy of giving? How do you incorporate kindness and acts of generosity into their daily life? It's a process that may take years, but the time to start is when they are very young. You should begin by not expecting miracles and not condemning them for their natural needs to hold onto what is theirs. They are not being selfish or unkind, they are simply processing a series of steps that begins with understanding possession so they can understand giving.

Traditions

For as long as I can remember, every Christmas, my grandmother took me to an angel tree to pick out an angel or ornament with other children's names on them and then we went to pick out a present for these kids. We always donated money to various charities that came by and when there was a fundraising effort, even when we didn't have the money, we helped.

I wanted to pass these traditions on to my daughter. We bought her first angel off an angel tree at the age of 2. I taught her how to donate books when there was a book drive at the local store. She saw toy gatherings every Christmas and would go get something to toss into the bin.

Giving in All Seasons

She loves to make cards and presents for people. We demonstrated this for her by being generous and giving throughout the years. We showed her how we would give from donating food to donating time. The best way to teach your child to be altruistic is to be altruistic yourself.

I remember her arguing once with another child over a toy and I remember telling her that she got to play with that toy all the time. Perhaps it would be kind to let the other child play for a change. She thought about it a moment and then went over to hand the toy to the other baby.

It takes time, it takes patience and it takes leading by example - but you too can have raise an altruistic child and isn't that a great gift to give to the world?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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