How To Teach Children Philanthropy And Kindness

To raise your children to be philanthropic, kind and giving is an honorable goal. The correct question however, is not, “how can I teach my kids to be philanthropic and kind”. This phrasing of the question makes the assumption that you can teach children to BE something. Math, reading and history are the type of things that can be taught, character traits are leaned through modeling and imitation, not “lessons”. If you YOURSELF are philanthropic and kind, your children will be so as well. The qualities of character that you (and the other significant adults in their lives) value and possess will be the qualities they will value and develop. n Children learn more by WHO you are then by what you do, say, or what you try to “teach” them. This is a vastly different point than to say that children will “do what you do and not what you say”. While this sentiment touches the surface, the reality of it goes much deeper. A child, especially a young child, has an unformed energy. This energy is developed into their character. This forming occurs not with “lessons” but is shaped by the character of the people around them. This is why who you choose to be caretakers for your children is one of the most important decisions you will make as a parent.
If you decide you want to “teach” your children to become philanthropic and you give to a charity just to “show your children” how to be kind, they will immediately “know” that it is not genuine. The real lesson that they will pick up on is not” how to give”, but “how to be insincere”. A better, and really the ONLY, way to inform your children’s character is to “live” the lesson you would like to teach. If you want them to be generous, LIVE generously, if you want them to be kind, LIVE kindness, if you want them to be peaceful, LIVE peacefully. Your “soul deep” character traits will be what your children develop. n Spend more time developing your own character and your children will effortlessly learn all the lessons they need. As you BECOME the qualities of loving, giving and kindness, they will automatically become more loving, giving and kind themselves. n In the end, the best thing you can do for your children is ask yourself the question, “How can I, myself, be more philanthropic and kind?” The answer to that question will be the answer to how you can teach your children to be so. n