Teaching children about charity: Help children find the causes they care about

How to start teaching children about charity

It’s never too early to engage children in charitable giving.

A key part of starting a charitable conversation with the young people in your life is helping them to find the causes they care most about. Feeling connected to a cause makes the experience of giving even more enjoyable, and will empower them to make an impact!

You can help children find the causes they care about by starting conversations on different causes. Whether you discuss the issues you are personally passionate about, or topics frequently mentioned in the media, it’s best to keep things simple. Start by just introducing one or two causes, and build on them over time.

Conversation Starters For Teaching Children About Charity

Food insecurity:

• Did you know that some people and families don’t have enough food to eat?
• There are families that don’t have enough money to buy food. How do you think it feels to be hungry all the time and not have enough food?

Homelessness:

• Did you know that some families don’t have a safe place to live or a bed to sleep in every night?
• It costs money to pay for a home and for some, it’s too much. Imagine if we didn’t have our home; what do you think our life would be like?

Child poverty and poverty in the developing world:

• Did you know that there are children in some parts of the world who are sick, but can’t see a doctor? For example, there are kids without sight who need a simple operation to be able to see the world around them, but they don’t have enough money to see a doctor.

Environmental protection/climate change:

• Did you know that some of the most beautiful parts of our world are in danger from pollution? The trees and lakes and oceans we love so much are all part of the environment. The pollution in the world means they won’t always be so beautiful, unless people help protect them.

Animal protection:

• Did you know that there are lots of wild animals that are endangered? Animals know how to live in the wild but, sometimes, people build roads and buildings where they live and they don’t have anywhere to live or find food.

Once you have discovered the causes your child cares about, you could back up your conversations by giving them a charitable allowance. Your child can donate their allowance to the charity of their choice, allowing them to directly engage with the act of giving, and experience the good feeling that follows.

How do you start conversations about charity and good causes with your children? We’d love to hear from you! Send us an email: [email protected]

If you’d like some more tips on how to engage your children in charitable giving, check out this post.

If you feel inspired to create an impact, then Charitable Impact is here for you. With our free Impact Account, you can support all of your favourite causes from one place. Add funds to your account at any time, take the time and space to plan your impact, and then send gifts from your account to the causes you care about. Sign up for a free account today to get started!