Generosity for the Holidays

 

The smell of Gingerbread cookies in the air, snow falling peacefully on the ground, and the warmth of a nice cup of hot chocolate are all signs that one of the most special times of year is upon us: the Holiday Season! No matter what Holidays you celebrate, this time of year is special for everyone. It brings families together, and is a great time for spreading generosity and cheer!

 

Though we have been focusing on First Time Listening this month, we would like to take this week to talk about Generosity, and why it is so important for the Holiday season. We will still be practicing our First Time Listening skills with our students this month, but we can also talk about how to be more generous to the people in our lives. Our goal is for all of our kids to end up on the “Nice List” this December, so let’s jump right into a few tips to help our kids be more generous!

 

It is important to have children practice being generous, that way they can grow up spreading kindness to everyone. Here are a few tips to consider when helping your child be more generous:

 

1. Remind them what generosity means and why it is important
2. Have them practice saying nice things about other people
3. Finally, practice being generous with them!

 

What Does it Mean to Be Generous?

A great place to start with teaching kids to be generous is by helping them understand what it means. Generosity, simply put, is the practice of being nice to others through words and actions. It means helping others in need, sharing with friends, and complimenting people with nice words. It is synonymous with kindness, hospitality, and selflessness.

 

Most importantly, generosity means not expecting anything in return for being nice. Similar to our talks about Kindness and the Golden Rule from last October, children should be generous because it is the right thing to do, not for a reward or any other form of compensation. Remind your kids of this important fact, so that they understand the nature of generosity, and act kind for the right reasons.

 

Generosity is an extremely important quality for our children to develop, especially during this time of year. Although, keep in mind that generosity can and should be practiced any time of year, it is extra important during the Holiday season.

 

Most of our children are lucky enough to have loving parents who are able to provide them with a home to live in, a bed  to sleep in, clothes to wear, food to eat, etc. etc. However, there are people who might even be in our own communities who are less fortunate, and do not have the same resources or opportunities as us. They might be your friends, neighbors, or classmates, and you might not be able to tell at a glance. Generosity is important so that our children can learn to help those in need, and be nice enough to them to provide them with things they might not have. That’s why Food Drives, Clothes Drives, and Toy Drives are popular events that take place during this time. It would be a good idea to have your children participate in one of these kinds of drives, where the collected donations are given to local pantries, shelters, or hospitals. Or, you can even consider hosting your own within your own community!

 

Practice Saying Nice Things

After learning what generosity means and why it’s important, now we can start having our children practice Generosity. The best way to practice is by having children say nice things to others. For example, have them start by saying something nice about a meal you prepared for 

them. Or, you can have them practice by sharing compliments whenever they think of one.

 

Have them practice sharing these compliments with you, and their friends. They can say nice things about appearances like haircuts, new shoes, or a cool shirt. Or, they can compliment someone for an action they performed, like a groovy dance, finding a solution to a problem, or a helpful act.

 

In addition to having them practice Generosity towards their friends, have them also practice being kind to themselves. See our past blog post on Self-Kindness for more in-depth tips about how to have your children practice this key skill. A good place to start, though, is by having them look in the mirror and practice saying nice things about their own appearance or actions. In addition, pay attention to how they talk to and about the things they do. Language is extremely important, so try to reinforce it when they say nice things about themselves!

 

Either way, the key to getting our children to be more generous is practice. One of our team’s favorite sayings is, “repetition is the mother of skill,” which means the more times you practice something, the better you get at it. The more they practice being Generous, the faster it will become second-nature.

 

Your Turn!

Finally, our last tip for helping kids become more Generous, is to practice the quality ourselves! You are all such loving parents, and show Generosity towards your children by giving them all the resources, opportunities, and love they need to succeed. In addition to all that, another key to helping our kids become kinder people is leading by example.

 

Go out of your way to be extra generous to your kids, and you’ll notice them start to be more generous in return. Just like you can have them practice complimenting other people, you can also practice being extra generous with your kids! You will also notice a more positive overall atmosphere between you and your kids, which will encourage them to be even more generous.

 

Again, you guys are wonderfully generous parents, and increasing the Generosity you provide will also encourage your children to increase their Generosity as well!

 

In Our Classes…

In our class this week, we will be focusing our character talks on Generosity. We will encourage our students to be nice to each other. We will do this by having them practice saying and doing nice things for each other. When they are partnered up, we will have them practice complimenting each other on their drills or forms. We will also encourage them to help others out through nice acts. Our main goal this week is to develop Generosity within our students, and teach them why it is so important for the Holiday season!

In Conclusion

In summary, it is extra important during this time of year to extend our Generosity to those around us. There are many people who are less fortunate than us, and kind acts can help them out tremendously. Being Generous to everyone is important, and will help our children grow up into kind and caring civilians. You can make someone’s entire day just by sharing your Generosity with them for even just a few seconds. Let’s make sure that we’re helping our kids be as Generous as they can, and help out people during the Holidays!

 

What other ways do you have your children practice Generosity?

 

Why else is Generosity an important skill to develop?

 

How do you think developing Generous kids will help change our World for the better?