Le Bonheur's Director of Child Life Thomas Hobson is a father of two and knows a thing or two about kids. He shares advice below on how to teach your kids to be generous people.

As the holiday season sets in this year remember your child is watching. They’re not just watching for packages that come into your home, but also, the actions you take during this time of generosity. And the examples you set will be remembered long after the presents have been unwrapped. Whether we like it or not, generosity is a learned behavior, and the burden is on us to show our children how.

We teach children that you need to be nice, but we also have to teach them that they need to help people. As children grow, they have an egocentric view of the world. So we have to teach it. We have to try to teach empathy. As children get older, they will model whatever they’ve learned early on.

So, how do we go about teaching generosity? I recommend that you teach generosity by teaching, doing and even rewarding children for being mindful of others. Developmentally, it is normal for young children to view the world on from their own perspective. By providing a reward, you are reinforcing the actions of looking beyond their needs and looking at those of someone else.

For example, a few years ago, my twins outgrew their coats, and we decided to take them to a local charity. First, I talked to them twins about why they were giving the coats away (they had outgrown them, the coats were still in good condition and someone else needed them). This was a great opportunity to talk about the needs of other people, and things that we can do to help meet that need.

Also, it’s a good idea to expose children to active ways to help others. If you are taking food to a food bank, for example, allow the children to help pick out the food at the store and carry it into the bank. With that, they are being exposed to helping others.

It’s also important to enforce the practice during other times of the year, not just Christmas. For example, have your child’s next birthday party benefit Le Bonheur – and ask friends to bring a donation to the hospital in exchange for a gift. 

More than anything, remember that you can find teachable moments anywhere. All you need to do is show your child all of the opportunities to be generous. How knows, you might find that you get a little something out of it, too.