I have a shortlist of healthy habits I’d like to instill in my kids, and charitable giving is definitely on it. It’s right up there with a solid work ethic and regular exercise. In fact, charitable giving has a lot in common with exercise:
- Nobody else can do it for you.
- It can be tough to get started.
- You always feel good about it afterwards.
You might even argue that charitable giving is better than exercise because it makes other people feel good too.
So how can you motivate your child to get started with charitable giving and, ideally, turn it into a life-long habit? Here are six approaches that have worked well with our kids so far.