Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of
building compassion through service with your children.
Today, I'm continuing that theme for the month of November.
A month that I feel lends itself particularly well to reflecting on
what to be thankful for,
teaching our children about gratitude,
and giving back to others.
(Our family on a recent nature/pick up trash walk)
Community service, performed as a family unit
is a great way to and show our children with our actions
and not just our words how to give back to others.
Volunteering alongside your children forms family bonds,
creates memories, teaches compassion for others, and gives you
an opportunity to think and talk about social issues as a family.
With our busy schedules it is easy to lose focus
on what is important and what values we want to teach our children.
Remember that actions speak louder than words,
so even if you talk the talk,
you need to walk the walk (so to speak) for your children
to really get the message!
Figure out what your passions are and use that as a
jumping off point for what kind of activity to get involved in.
If your family loves animals, consider volunteering at
your local animal shelter or with a rescue group.
Encourage little artists to create crafts or cards for a nursing home
or mail them to service men and women serving oversees.
If the environment is important to your family, consider recycling,
composting, or going on a trash walk to
pick up litter around your neighborhood or favorite park.
Take time to put it on your calendar and make it a priority
just like a teacher conference, a doctor's appointment, or date night
(those are all important too!)
Please don't feel overwhelmed with guilt,
there is enough of that in the parenting world
and this is not supposed to be one more thing to feel badly about.
You don't have to save the world!
Little things and little actions (small donations) can make a big difference too.
Warmly,
Pink and Green Mama
MaryLea
MaryLea
This blog is part of an incentivized online influencer network for Mom's Homeroom.
Mom's Homeroom is brought to you by Frosted Mini-Wheats.
I will be donating my November paycheck to charity.
3 comments:
I am a SAHM to a 3 year old son. I really wanted to get us both involved in some kind of volunteering/service...it really is never to early to teach helping each other. I found the perfect opportunity by volunteering with a program at our local library called Homeward Bound. We pick out books, movies and audiobooks and deliver them to people who may be Homebound and not able to get to the library. It is the perfect service opportunity for my son who can help with the whole process. We also do simple trash pick up at our local park.
That sounds like a PERFECT volunteer project to do with your son. I will be checking with our library to see if we have a similar program, thank you!
Warmly,
MaryLea
What a wonderful post and a nice reminder as we approach the holidays. My daughter and I collect blankets each winter for the animal shelters and we deliver them together. I love to see the compassion she has at such a young age for all living creatures.
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