How To Teach Your Toddler About Charity
Every so often I find myself complaining about things I don’t have or being discontent with the way things are. When this happens, it’s important to get a reset. I am SO blessed! I have so much amazingness in my life – things I don’t even need! I’m never lacking for food and clean water. I have a roof over my head that I own. My boys always have diapers, clothes, nourishment, and way more toys than two boys know what to do with!
I want my boys to grow up thankful for the things they have instead of always wishing for something new, shiny, and nicer. A heart of thankfulness doesn’t come naturally so I do my best to instill it in my kiddos – especially my toddler… In between his toddler meltdown tantrums, of course.
One way to instill thankfulness in my little man is to help him think outside himself. I know that a two (or, if you ask him, almost three) year old can’t really think outside himself too well so doing practical, tangible things that help others is a great way to instill thankfulness and teach him all about charity.
How to Teach Your Toddler About Charity
Write Letters to Soldiers
The men and women fighting for our country love getting letters! Caleb and I talk about people who are away from their families and are sad about it and how, if he draws them a picture, he is making them happy. He sure loves the idea that he’s making someone happy.
Purchase Gifts for Children in Need
As Christmas time approaches, it’s the perfect time to take your child to pick out gifts for children in need. The gifts don’t have to be expensive! Caleb loves picking out gifts and talking about the kids who don’t get presents and how they will be so happy to get the present. And then he tells me, once again, that he needs cupcakes for his birthday.
Sponsor a Child
We just received a new picture from the little girl we sponsor in Ethiopia. We showed Caleb her picture and explained to him that we sent money to her so she could have books, clothes, food, and clean water. We talked about all the things he loves and how the money we send her gives her things like that too.
Visit a Nursing Home
We love taking Caleb to visit some of the elderly people we know in nursing homes. The smiles that take over their faces when our little boy arrives makes my heart skip a beat. He typically is shy at first but, once he warms up, he’s happy to sit on the laps of those who are able to hold him and chatter away to them… With us translating his cray-cray toddler talk every step of the way.
Shop with Companies that Give Back
I almost always have the boys with me when I go shopping and, of course, I talk to them while we’re in the store. When I find brands that give back to the community, I love telling Caleb about them! I explain to him that we are buying this item and that means other kids get the item too! He loves hearing that other kids are going to get cool things!
One company that I recently discovered is giving back to the community is Huggies! A recent study completed by Huggies and the National Diaper Bank Network discovered that 1 in 3 U.S. families struggle with diaper need – the struggle to provide enough diapers to keep a baby or toddler clean, dry, and healthy! That’s crazy! I don’t even think about how fortunate I am to have more diapers than I know what to do with for my boys! I’ve never had to be concerned about whether or not I have another diaper on hand so I can change my sons (unless, of course, I’ve been procrastinating on my shopping and need to run to the store!)
For the first time, Kroger and Huggies have teamed up to help families by donating up to 1 million diapers to the National Diaper Bank Network, a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to helping meet the basic needs of all babies and families! That’s so exciting to me! I want to do all I can to help get those diapers into the hands of needy families!
From now until December 5, when you buy Huggies Diapers (We love the Huggies Snug & Dry diapers at out house!) at Kroger or Kroger banner stores (like Fred Meyer here in the PNW!), 1 Big Pack or 2 Jumbo Packs, you’ll get a FREE pack of wipes! Gotta love free!!! On top of that, Huggies will also donate a day’s worth of diapers (up to 1 million) to the National Diaper Bank Network! That’s fantastic! Makes me definitely want to stock up on Huggies before the 2nd!
Your Turn:
What do you do to teach your toddler about charity?
