Self Help Parenting Tips | Helping Children Understand the Virtue of Charity

Charity means helping others, particularly the poor. To be able to give to others something that belongs to you is an act of love. It is difficult to separate oneself from material things that you want such as money and to give it to others that need it requires an act of love.

It does not necessarily have to be material things. It can be anything you have which you willingly give to others. Smiling to others, comforting others, praying for the healing of others and other acts given voluntarily, willingly and with the intention of doing good to others are acts of charity.

You should train the children at an early age to recognize the hardships and poverty of others and discipline them to help others to the best of their capabilities.

Talk to them about different people and show them the differences between the rich and the poor. In some neighborhoods, they might see people sitting on the sidewalk and asking for alms.

Explain to them the difficulties of the person. Give them some money to give to the poor person. They will eventually get accustomed to giving alms to the poor. In some churches, collections are made after services to help the poor people.

Children however do not have money most of the time. Show the children there are other ways of showing charitable acts. They can share their food with the poor people. Smiling and saying a kind word are also acts of charity.

Try to instill in them love for their neighbor and the charitable acts are part of their demonstration of their love for others. Try to differentiate between pity and love. Pity and compassion may be felt by the child. Explain that these emotions are degrees of love for the person.

Get them involved in charitable projects. Through fund raising activities, they can learn teamwork, responsibility and charity. There is no specific age when children should start learning about charity. Sometimes it is the little child that teaches the adult the joy of being charitable and displaying love for the neighbor.

Collecting old newspapers, clothes and toys are some activities that the children can do well. Accompany them to different houses around the neighborhood to ask for donations for the poor. Help them to gather the items and bring them to a collection center. Show the children the different activities that are done at the collection centers.

The collected items might be sold to some company for recycling purposes and the money may be used to purchase food and other essentials for the poor. In some districts, the poor people will assemble and wait for their dole outs. There are also food centers where hot soup is served to the poor people.


Explain to the children the misfortunes that could happen to a person and cause them to become poor. Teach the children to help the persons not only financially but to help them get work and earn back their dignity. Allow your children to select their charitable project.

It may require transporting or assisting them physically – support them in their endeavors. Make it a family endeavor. Helping the children in their charitable projects is a good way to bond and spend quality time with them.

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