Christmas is a time when many people's thoughts turn to "giving something back" to those less fortunate than ourselves, and there's no reason why young children can't get involved in that too.
You might think it's part of your duty as a parent to set a good example and teach your children to grow up viewing acts of charity as a normal part of life but there are also some less altruistic reasons to get the children involved. It can be a fun activity for you and your child to do together, and a way to introduce or develop concepts like fairness, empathy, and compassion. We even learned a little about geography - more about that later!
There are lots of different ways to approach this, but this year we decided to take part in a ‘shoebox appeal’. If you’re not familiar with the concept, a shoebox is filled with gifts and dropped at a local collection point, and these are sent en masse to places where they’re needed and delivered to children or families there. We chose the charity Link to Hope which delivers boxes to poor families in Eastern Europe, but a quick internet search will show you there are other schemes, each with a slightly different focus. There’s guidance online about what to put in your box; because it’s for the whole family, as well as little toys for kids you can include useful items like gloves, toiletries and tools.
Putting it into practice
Our eldest son Miles is 5 years old and, while we wanted him to feel involved, we thought letting him select and pack all the items would be a bit much, so decided to get most of the things ready in advance. He and I sat down one evening before bedtime (and after the younger children had gone to bed) to talk about the charity and what they do, and we watched the introductory video on their website. We also talked more generally about how lucky our family is that we can take for granted things like food and warm clothes in the winter.
Charity with Children
at Christmas