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Teach Your Children to Give Back

You’ve noticed it in the stores already. Aisles are stocked with notebooks, pencils and the latest cool learning gadgets to ready your kids for the classroom. Soon your kids will be back to school honing their math, science and English skills. But before they hit the books, there’s one lesson they can learn at home—giving back to their community. Here’s what you can teach your kids about giving.

Practice What You Preach
You may think your kids aren’t listening to you, but believe it or not, they’re paying attention more than you know. So when it comes to teaching your kids to give to their community, be their model to follow. If they see that you are willing to help others, they will follow in your footsteps.

Start Small
Your kids don’t have to save the world to make a difference. Cleaning up the local park, making a sandwich for a homeless person, or helping an elderly person with some chores are easy places to start. Let your children take a leading role in choosing the volunteer project. The more ownership they have, the more they’ll put into the experience.

Make a Plan
Once your kids have an interest in giving back, make it a routine activity. This is a good way for your family to spend some quality time together. Plus, after your kids grow out of the small stuff maybe they will, in fact, change the world.