Part 5 of 5—Creating a Meaningful Holiday Season

Teaching “It Is Better To Give Than To Receive.”

Karli asked, “Dad, why do people say, ‘It is better to give than to receive.’ I love all the presents I get. What is more fun than that?”

Discussion:
In addition to the “gimmees,” many families struggle with how to teach their children the power of giving. An incredible gift to your kids is to show them, first-hand, how wonderful it feels to be helpful to someone in need. The research on volunteering is clear. Happy people invest more hours in volunteer service than unhappy people, according to Throits and Hewitt, authors of “Volunteer Work and Well-Being,” ( J. of Health and Social Behavior, June, 2001). Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling On Happiness, says people actually feel a rush of happiness when they help others.

As a family, agree you are going to give time or goods to your favorite charity. You can also give a gift to a family less fortunate than yours—your school counselor and teachers are excellent resources for names of families in need. If you do prepare a gift box, get input from each of your children as to what foods should go into the box and shop together for the grocery items.

You can also strengthen each kids’ philanthropic nature by getting them involved in deciding what non-profits to donate to each year. Each child could research and pick out his or her favorite.

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If I knew then what I know now,
I would have established an annual family meeting to decide what volunteer project we wanted to get involved in.
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With admiration for all you do,

Dr. Kathy

Kathy Masarie, MD
Pediatrician, Parent, and Life Coach
Author of Raising Our Daughters and Raising Our Sons

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