How to Teach Children The Value of Giving
(NUI) - In today's materialistic culture, teaching a child the value of giving during the holidays is not always easy. Passing on values like generosity and care for your neighbor can be a challenge, especially with the pressure of holiday expectations. But, it can be done.
Heifer International has a great idea for parents seeking to give their children the good feeling that comes from bringing happiness to someone else.
For more than 50 years, Heifer International has provided farm animals and training in sustainable agriculture to poor families with marginal resources. They do this through donations given in honor of a friend or loved one.
While kids might not understand what it means to write a check to charity, they can easily grasp the power of giving an animal - a goat, flock of chickens, cow, llama or honey bees, to name a few - that Heifer International provides to poor families in need.
Children know that the gift of an animal makes it possible for those who have no resources to get milk, eggs, wool, fertilizer or honey.
"Kids get pleasure from seeing someone else happy," said Charles A. Smith, a professor of child development at the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University. The act of giving unleashes the idea that a child can touch someone's life. Heifer International believes that experience empowers children and shows them that they can make a difference in the world.
Children can help further by raising money to buy the animals. They can "Carol for Cows" or make and sell animal ornaments and cookies. Some may choose to decorate cans with Heifer International catalog pictures for placement at local stores and restaurants to collect money to help end world hunger.
They also can participate in Read to Feed, Heifer's educational program that teaches kids about places in the world where the children's lives are much different from their own. Visit www.readtofeed.org for more information and a free curriculum guide.
From Hanukkah to Christmas to Kwanzaa, Heifer offers a unique way to teach a child about helping the less fortunate.
For More Information:
For additional information, order Heifer's "Most Important Gift Catalog in the World" by calling 1-800-696-1918 or visiting www.heifer.org.
Article courtesy of www.newsusa.com.
