Experts — Articles

Teach your Children Unconditional Giving!

By Lisa Hein

The holiday season is right around the corner and sneaking up on us quickly. It is a time to be with family, decorate the home, and have friends over to celebrate in the gift of sharing.

For many years, most of us have spent days and weeks at the mall shopping for those ‘perfect’ gifts for our children. No matter if we had the money or not, we made sure there were several gifts under the tree. Protocol we thought.

The thing about the 'holidays,' is that some of us have lost the entire understanding of what it is all about. Yes, we were brought up on candy canes, fresh baked cookies, and presents under the tree, but nowadays, you walk into homes and the presents are stacked so high, you have to have an eight foot tree.
When you look around, there are organizations that need help during the holidays providing gifts for the children, warm blankets or help serving the meals. When we can give of ourselves, yes, that is the true meaning of HOLIDAYS. To serve those who have nothing to give, no food, money or family has to be one of the most rewarding gifts we could give our family.

In my opinion, maybe what is happening in the economy is happening for a reason. People of every socio-economic background are taking a very serious look at their finances, job security, and most of all their family. Some of us may be asking if we will we still have our job in December? Will we still be living in our home by then? What is our future financial outlook? These are very serious concerns.

Maybe it is time to stop living beyond our means, and teach our children the true meaning of giving. Maybe we could take our children to a homeless shelter where these families have nothing but, hopefully, a warm meal to share with their children.
How awesome would it be to bring those children gifts so that their world could be changed for that one day. Can you imagine how incredible that may feel to our children, to know that the things they may experience every day of the year, these children get to experience once in a while?

When we allow our children to feel this type of unconditional giving, we are empowering them to learn how to be givers instead of takers and to realize that everything doesn't always have to be about them. Building character is something we really need to teach our children, and this may be the exact time for our entire family to experience together.
It was written that ‘it is better to give than to receive.’ The holidays aren't about receiving materialistic gifts, it is about unconditional giving. Children really do love to do things for others and this maybe the perfect time to allow them to feel good about sharing joy to those who have none.
Perhaps you can be the one in the family that stands up and says, “This holiday we will not be buying gifts for each other, we will be giving to those less fortunate. Wow, what a concept!

Learn More about Lisa Hein

---

Comments
Leave a Comment Now

Leave a Comment Now

---

Return to the List of Articles

Return to the List of Experts