One of the hardest lessons a parent can teach kids is about sharing. Unfortunately, the problem seems to be that many parents aren’t prepared to help their children grow beyond the ‘me-me-me’ stage that is a normal part of the development of children. In fact, there is even a poem about this stage in a child’s development called The Toddler’s Creed that explains this mindset perfectly. “If I want it, it’s mine,” and so the story goes. If you are looking for creative ways to help your child get through this stage of his or her development, teach them early on that others have needs too, and sharing is a nice thing to do.
On Modeling Behaviors You Want Them to Learn
Learning to get their needs met is a natural stage in child development, as mentioned above. The way most children do this is “I want,” or “Gimme!” Don’t be alarmed the first time your toddler stubbornly insists that you or a playmate give something over that he or she wants. This is the first stage in learning to get their needs met, but it is now up to you to help them move beyond the “Gimme” stage. Many parents teach by example while explaining what it is they are doing. A child may not respond as you’d expect, but they are learning the logic behind sharing.
Fundraising to Raise Awareness
Some parents are actively involved in their communities and, as a result, are committed to working on fundraising programs. From selling candies for the church to selling Christmas wrap and cards door to door, there are many things a kid can learn to do from a very early age. Some churches now use mobile applications as a way of getting everyone involved in their fundraising events, this could be a good way of getting your child involved with fundraising for your local church – see text to give church to learn more. Many parents are involved in raising money for childhood illnesses and diseases. Fundraising to help cure pediatric cancer is huge with parents who are thankful that their children are healthy and whole.
Fundraising Ideas Kids Can Help With
Above all else, it is important for kids to stay safe while helping raise funds for the less fortunate. With that said, there are a number of things kids can safely do. From parents helping their kids set up a GoFundMe page, for example, to ask for donations, to doing something as simple as a bake sale, there are many other ways to raise money for people less fortunate.
Kids can:
- Walk for the cure with pledges according to distance walked.
- Help with bake sales – baking and sitting at tables with parents.
- Spelling bee competition with pledges for each word spelled correctly.
- Recycling with the proceeds going to their favorite charity.
- Car washes for older kids.
- Donations for buttons and badges for their favorite charity. If you want to get the extra mile, you could also sell T-Shirts with the charities name on it. You can easily get custom T-Shirts printed at Houston screen printers, and these will definitely bring in more donations.
There are, in fact, a great number of ways a child can get involved in fundraising. Whether your children choose the charity they want to raise money for or help you with your pet projects, there is much they can do to learn the importance of sharing. Not only will you raise money for your favorite charities, but your children will be advancing through developmental stages. They learn to share from modeling your behaviors and they learn the joy of sharing. Fundraising is the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes, so have fun finding ideas your kids can help with and you will be proud of the progress they make.