Many people reflect on their childhood as a simpler, less stressful time, often yearning for the days of low responsibility and almost nonexistent societal pressure. However, while this period may seem uncomplicated and benign, it is also crucial from an emotional development standpoint. Children are highly impressionable, and this is a great time for their parents to instill key philanthropic values for the future – namely empathy, compassion, and open-mindedness toward the world around them.
By making such tenets a family tradition, parents can position their children to become kinder, humbler adults conducive to a stronger social climate – all while strengthening their own philanthropic identities along the way.
Leading By Example
There is extensive research on the malleability of young minds – especially as it pertains to essential cognitive functions like impulse control, judgment, memory, and decision-making. A large portion of this development comes directly from a child’s environment, and much of this relates to the behaviors they observe daily. This notion also applies to a child’s social development; for instance, a 2020 study found that children were 33 percent more likely to make charitable donations as adults if they regularly witnessed such behavior at a younger age.
Therefore, parents need to be aware of how they act around their children. In a philanthropic sense, this process includes recognizing the opportunity to normalize charitable behavior, acting as models of human decency and introducing concepts like giving, sharing, and valuing what you have. If a parent is involved in specific charitable causes, they should make those endeavors known to their children from a young age. Philanthropists often downplay the work they do, usually out of humility or unwavering focus on their next goal, but for parents, it is crucial to be vocal about such matters so children can absorb their overarching morals.
This approach can also help parents hone proper self-awareness and perspective to become stronger philanthropists themselves; think of it as teaching and helping the greater good, not flaunting.
Broadening Horizons for the Future
From an adult perspective, philanthropy can seem straightforward regardless of the intended beneficiary. Children, however, may not immediately understand the concept’s countless nuances and forms. In this sense, parents should make philanthropic education both accessible and digestible – all while touching on common charitable avenues like donating, volunteering, and committing random acts of kindness.
There are numerous family-oriented learning outlets teaching these concepts. The Life You Can Save, for instance, offers kid-friendly resources on philanthropy, such as puppet-based videos teaching the importance of giving and social activism. The National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP), on the other hand, features countless articles, webinars, and other services aimed at both philanthropic rearing approaches and ways to instill giving as a familial value.
That said, to leave a good lasting impression, parents must remember to give their children a choice in specific charitable scenarios. If a parent simply coerces a child into participating with a reward-based mentality, they risk stunting that child’s social and emotional growth, decreasing their chances of becoming genuinely altruistic in adulthood.
Parents should also ensure their children understand the results of their philanthropic efforts whenever possible, which may not always be easy if it involves monetary donation. Parents can use these moments to explain the cause or initiative in question, describing various moral and social matters and the larger change spurred by their donation. If anything, parents can apply these moments to lesser social situations in which their children may find themselves; a donation to a shelter, for instance, could relate to a past discussion on the importance of sharing a toy – while touching on the much more significant implications at play with the former.
In time, this socialization can help children make giving a part of their permanent being. These children can then pass those lessons on to their children, making philanthropy an enduring family tradition and, broadly, a potential catalyst for generational change.
