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I am proud to participate in this encouraging and helpful program, Hunger Heroes, on behalf of Champions for Kids and The Motherhood.
It is hard to teach children to have empathy for others. When they fall down, we say “Oh, you’re ok! Stand back up. There you go!” or if they get a splinter, we say “Be brave while I get it out. Don’t cry.” Yet, in the next sentence, we say “Your brother just fell down, ask him if he is OK.” Or “Your sister got a splinter in her hand and she is crying. Rub her back and tell her that its OK”. I feel like we send them different messages.
Be brave and strong, but have empathy. It is really what we want, isn’t it?
So, how do we go about teaching our kids to be empathic and helpful to others? One way is simply to show them EXACTLY what they can do to help. Children need to see you in action to understand. They need to jump in and help.
It is up to us, as parents, to find ways to teach them. We need to provide opportunities for them to help. My neighbor took his son to Nicaragua on a mission trip. He learned so much and saw children living in poverty, first hand. You don’t have to travel to find ways to help. You can find it in your own town. Did you know that 16 million American children live in poverty? Many of these kids don’t have reliable access to the nutritious meals that help them thrive and succeed both academically and socially.
Here are a few ways that YOU can help your CHILD to learn to serve others and to have empathy for others:
1 – Champions for Kids makes it simple to give children in local communities the resources they need to thrive. They work to ignite generational change by fostering a ‘habit of giving’ among youth and parents in America.
– All children should have: Someone who cares; a Place to belong; Hope for tomorrow and provisions for their journey. All children.
~Champions for Kids
2- Listen to your kids! Teach them how to listen and be empathic by becoming their example and role model:
3- “Be a Hunger Hero” at Sam’s Club by purchasing any of these products at Sam’s Club throughout August: Tyson® Fully Cooked Chicken Nuggets 5 lb. bag, KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese Dinner 7.25 oz., 12 pack or CAPRI SUN Juice Drink Variety Pack – 40 pouches, and help feed* a child in need, *4 oz. of protein, 6 fl. oz. of CAPRI SUN, and/or 2.5 oz. of KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese Dinners
Our Hunger Heroes are bold, confident and playful as they save the day in style.
4- Point out when you see that someone looks sad and ask your child how he/she can help to make that person happy. (Even modify this activity a bit by taking pictures of child with a happy and sad face).
5- Stop asking questions such as “Who did the best today on your team?” Or “So, did everyone listen to the teacher in class today?” This focuses on competition. Instead, focus on kindness- “Tell me one nice thing that you did for a friend today.”
6- Adopt my Cotton Ball Reward System – we use this system to encourage unexpected kindness in our children and it works fantastically. (& make cute jars to go with them!)
