{"id":13351,"date":"2019-12-05T15:50:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T20:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/?p=13351"},"modified":"2019-12-05T15:50:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-05T20:50:00","slug":"how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jason Marsh<\/em><\/p>\n

During the holidays, opportunities abound to help kids understand why and how to help people in need, with food drives proliferating and countless organizations making pitches for end-of-year donations. And there\u2019s scientific evidence that kids should be receptive to those messages: Research suggests that they have a deeply rooted instinct to\u00a0share<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and to\u00a0help others<\/span><\/a>, from the time they\u2019re very young\u2014one study even found that\u00a0toddlers enjoy giving<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to others more than they like getting treats for themselves. Kids, it seems, have a strong, natural drive to be kind and generous.<\/span><\/p>\n

Except for my daughter. <\/b>Or so it seemed last year, when my wife and I tried to involve her in our annual practice of selecting organizations to support with a charitable gift around the holidays. Our then-seven-year-old wasn\u2019t having it\u2014not interested, end of story.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clearly, there were two possible explanations: She was an exceptionally selfish human being, or I had failed as a parent. Probably both.<\/span><\/p>\n

I knew that wasn\u2019t true, of course. My daughter had always amazed us with the care and compassion she\u2019d extended to most everyone, from younger neighbors to classmates to characters in her favorite TV shows. But I couldn\u2019t shake the feeling that I must have been doing something wrong. How could this obviously caring kid seem so apathetic when it came time to put her (or our) money where her mouth is?<\/span><\/p>\n

I know from my years working at the Greater Good Science Center that the key lies in nurturing her inner motivation for generosity\u2014it has to be something she wants to do herself, not sees as a chore imposed on her by an outside force (like an anxious parent). Giving, in other words, has to feel good.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think helping our kids experience the happiness that comes from giving to others is probably one of the most valuable ways we can nurture generosity in them,\u201d says Lara Aknin, an assistant professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University in Canada (and the one who led the study suggesting that giving makes toddlers happier than getting). \u201cIt sets off this positive cycle:\u00a0Giving makes people happy and happiness promotes giving.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how can we make sure that giving feels good for kids and launches this \u201cpositive cycle\u201d of happiness and generosity?<\/span><\/p>\n

I turned to experts for guidance, determined for things to be different with my own kid this holiday season. While they stressed that research on this topic is far from complete, there are science-based strategies for nurturing kids\u2019 altruistic instincts around the holidays and all year round. Here are five lessons I took away from our conversations.<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 <\/span>Be a role model\u2014and<\/i>\u00a0explain <\/b><\/span>why you do what you do<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Research stretching back decades has found that kids are more likely to be kind and generous when they have at least one parent who\u00a0models<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that behavior for them. But more recently, research by Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm of Indiana University has underscored that it\u2019s also important for parents to have conversations with their kids about generosity.<\/span><\/p>\n

One study<\/a><\/span>\u00a0led by Ottoni-Wilhelm found that adolescents were 18 percent more likely to donate money to a charitable organization if their parents had made any donation of their own in the past year. But if a parent had made a donation and talked with their child about giving, that kid was 33 percent more likely to donate\u2014an increase of 15 percentage points. Similarly, adolescents whose parent did volunteer work were 27 percent more likely to volunteer themselves\u2014and 47 percent more likely if their parent also talked with them about generosity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we assume that actions speak louder than words,\u201d says Sara Konrath, an assistant professor of philanthropic studies at Indiana University\u2019s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. \u201cBut in the case of this particular behavior, it seems like you need both together to effectively teach your children generosity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The experts stress that those conversations can and should start early, well before adolescence. Jill Gordon, director of the\u00a0Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(YPII), says that her organization has started to offer programs for children\u2014and their caregivers\u2014as young as three years old, educating them about the various ways they can help others and contribute to their communities. She believes it\u2019s almost never too early for parents to start having those conversations, whether around the dinner table or in the car.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can say, \u2018Your mom (or dad) and I support these organizations, and here\u2019s why,\u201d she suggests.<\/span><\/p>\n

Especially in these early conversations, parents don\u2019t need to explicitly encourage their kids to donate time or money\u2014just raising awareness about the parents\u2019 own actions is an important first step. Gordon has found that those conversations really start to \u201csink in\u201d around the age of eight\u2014my daughter\u2019s age, and also the youngest age\u00a0some research<\/span><\/a>\u00a0looks at when examining whether kids give to charity. So perhaps my concerns last year might have been a bit premature.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span> 2.\u00a0 <\/span>Help them understand the need<\/b><\/span> <\/b><\/p>\n

For kids to feel compelled to help others, first they have to recognize that their help is actually needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here parents can tap into kids\u2019 strong propensity for empathy\u2014evident in the\u00a0earliest stages of life<\/span><\/a>\u2014which enables them to pick up on the emotions and needs of others. Studies suggest that kids are more likely to help people in need when they try to\u00a0<\/span>see the world<\/a><\/span>\u00a0through their eyes or identify things they have in common. A\u00a0personal, human connection<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to someone makes that person\u2019s needs feel more real, harder to ignore, and thus motivates us to alleviate his or her suffering.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s one of the most basic things that empathy can do: Alert us to the needs of others and make us motivated to fix them in whatever way possible,\u201d says Kiley Hamlin, a developmental psychologist at the University of British Columbia.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than shying away from a person in need, parents can gently encourage their kids to think about that person\u2019s history and experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Or even better, suggests Konrath, they can look for ways to interact with the people they\u2019re helping. Konrath\u2019s kids, ages seven and four, recently donated socks to a local homeless shelter. But even after taking that step, she thinks the idea of \u201chomelessness\u201d might remain an abstract concept for kids their age.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut talking to actual people and getting to know them,\u201d she says, \u201cchanges them from a group of people that kids don\u2019t really understand to real people with names and stories and families that they can understand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jill Gordon has found that by the time children reach five or six years old, it\u2019s productive to start asking them questions about where they see needs in their community. \u201cMaybe that means having an early conversation about homelessness and food hunger,\u201d she says. \u201cThere aren\u2019t a lot of supermarkets in this neighborhood\u2014where do you think people get their food?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

By the time students reach fourth or fifth grade, Gordon says, they have the critical thinking and organizational skills to consider bigger actions that they could take to help address those needs, such as organizing fundraisers or service projects, and they can better understand which organizations in their community are meeting those needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Help them see the impact<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

A significant finding from studies of adults is that they\u2019ll derive greater happiness from their generosity\u2014and thus be more motivated to give again\u2014if they\u2019re able to\u00a0see the impact<\/span><\/a>\u00a0it has on others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aknin told me she has seen the same thing play out in her research with kids. In her study of toddlers, she believes they seemed to enjoy giving a treat (Goldfish crackers) more than receiving one because they got to see the recipient of their generosity\u2014a monkey puppet\u2014enjoy their gift right then and there. \u201cThey saw exactly how they were giving, and how it was beneficial,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the same usually can\u2019t be said for monetary donations. In fact, when kids are younger\u2014roughly <\/span>until the age of five, according to Hamlin\u2014the whole concept of money is pretty hazy and abstract. So even when they are interested in helping other people, it\u2019s very hard for them to wrap their heads around the benefits of donating money to a cause.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Aknin suggests involving younger kids\u2014like her own two-year-old son\u2014in forms of charity where they can make a more tangible connection between their actions and their positive impact. For instance, she believes taking them to the grocery store to pick out some nutritious items, then delivering those items to a food bank, will make a greater impression on them than \u201cjust setting aside a couple of dollars which, in theory, will go to help others but is not as tangible or concrete.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As kids get older, perhaps starting around the age of six, Aknin and Hamlin both suggested engaging them in altruistic acts where they can see the impact of their work up close\u2014like by volunteering at a soup kitchen or nursing home, or by helping to clean up a local park\u2014especially if it involves forming strong social connections with the people they help or with fellow volunteers.<\/span><\/p>\n

And when kids are old enough to grasp the concept of money, there are ways parents can help them appreciate the impact of charitable donations. After Sara Konrath made a donation recently to her local homeless shelter, she showed her seven-year-old daughter the letter of thanks that she received from the shelter, which included stories of people it was serving.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI told her, \u2018That organization needs money in order to run, and we\u2019re sharing our money with them so they can help these people,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cShe really got it. And hopefully one day she\u2019ll remember that and want to make her own contribution.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Make it part of who they are<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

For Konrath\u2019s daughter, making her own contribution might be a key to building a lasting habit of generosity:\u00a0Recent research<\/span><\/a>\u00a0suggests that when people give away something that has greater personal meaning or significance to themselves, they actually feel more committed to the cause they\u2019re supporting and are more likely to keep supporting that cause down the line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This resonates with Jill Gordon\u2019s approach at YPII, where they encourage youth to think about philanthropy not only as volunteering their time or donating their money but also as a way to use their personal talents for the greater good.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGiving and serving, being philanthropic\u2014it doesn\u2019t need to be a separate part of your life,\u201d she says. \u201cIt can be part of your identity, part of the activities you\u2019re already passionate about. If you\u2019re into the arts, let\u2019s find a way that you can use those talents. If you\u2019re into sports, maybe you can organize a drive to give away sports equipment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The more philanthropy is integrated into what a child is interested in or passionate about, she finds, \u201cthe more it tends to stick.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And, perhaps surprisingly, philanthropy might be more \u201csticky\u201d if it involves personal sacrifice, according to Lara Aknin. Her research found that kids looked happier when giving away their own Goldfish than when they could take Goldfish from another pot and give those away instead. \u201cI think this suggests that not only is giving rewarding to kids, but also that giving might be especially rewarding when it involves some sense of sacrifice,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

So although it makes sense for parents to want to facilitate their kids\u2019 generosity by making donations on their behalf, it might be more effective in the long run for kids to have some skin in the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

With that in mind, my wife and I decided not to simply involve our daughter in our end-of-year donations this year. Instead, we divided her weekly allowance into three pots\u2014for her to Spend, Save, and Share\u2014and at the end of the year, she can decide how she wants to donate her own personal Share amount. Which brings me to the next lesson\u2026
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Give them choice<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Though there have been some well-intentioned efforts to involve kids in philanthropy through mandatory service-learning programs, evidence suggests those efforts might backfire.<\/span><\/p>\n

Decades of\u00a0research<\/span><\/a>\u00a0has found that when people are forced to do something kind for others, or even subtly coerced to do it through an external reward, they\u2019ll see themselves as less altruistic and thus feel less motivated to help others in the long run.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead,\u00a0studies<\/span><\/a>\u00a0by Netta Weinstein and Richard Ryan, among others, have found that people feel happier after performing kind, helpful\u2014or \u201cprosocial\u201d\u2014acts only when those acts are voluntary and self-directed; when they feel pressured to help, they feel worse.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Jill Gordon stresses the importance of presenting options to kids and giving them choice. \u201cIf you\u2019re not involving kids in that conversation, they feel like it\u2019s being forced on them,\u201d she says. \u201cIt feels like homework.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gordon and others say it\u2019s important to keep in mind that there are different forms of giving: volunteering one\u2019s time, donating money or goods, lending one\u2019s talents to a cause. Not only are some more appropriate for different ages, but some are also more appropriate for different kids. Giving kids the freedom to choose what feels like the best fit for them will increase the odds that they\u2019ll feel good about their generosity and stick with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGiving givers choice\u2014encouraging them to give but allowing them to choose what they give to\u2014can make a big difference in the well-being of the giver afterwards,\u201d says Hamlin. \u201cAnd we want kids to grow up to be prosocial adults who will continue to give even after we\u2019re not around to make them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why, this year, my wife and I resolved to play it cool\u2014no guilt, no coercion.<\/span><\/p>\n

But one night over dinner a few weeks ago, I casually brought up that we were planning to support a few organizations that we care about\u2014and my daughter instantly chimed in with how she wanted to donate the money from her Share pot: \u201cAn orphanage or an animal shelter!\u201d (Her cousins recently adopted a dog from an animal shelter; I\u2019m still not sure where the orphanage idea came from.)<\/span><\/p>\n

But of course, we want her burst of generosity to come more than a once a year. Our goal is for these activities around the holidays to help build a lasting habit of generosity\u2014a habit that doesn\u2019t only bring her happiness but also teaches a deeper lesson about her place in the world. It\u2019s a lesson that most parents want to teach their kids, and one that Sara Konrath eloquently summed up toward the end of our conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all interconnected with each other,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd giving is just a reminder of our human connection to others: Not only are the recipients not alone, because we\u2019re thinking of them, but we are not alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jason Marsh<\/b>\u00a0is the editor in chief of\u00a0Greater Good<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Altruism in Montessori<\/b><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

As I read this article, I couldn\u2019t help but think how \u201cgiving to others\u201d is viewed at Raintree.\u00a0 <\/span>So much of the research cited in this article validates Montessori\u2019s.\u00a0 <\/span>There isn\u2019t a day that goes by I don\u2019t learn of some effort by Raintree students to help others, or witness helpfulness in the hallways and classrooms. Over the years students have organized clothing drives, bake sales, art shows, and more.\u00a0 <\/span>One year the students in Dayle\u2019s class had so many ideas for fundraisers, they had to vote to decide which one to support…\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Their\u00a0 <\/span>decision?\u00a0 <\/span>The White Helmets and the Syrian refugees.\u00a0 <\/span>Idea:\u00a0 <\/span>bake and art sale.\u00a0 <\/span>Money raised?\u00a0 <\/span>$972. The students generate the ideas, do the work and raise the funds, and sometimes they get a thank you note, or letter from the recipient, but that isn\u2019t why they do it.\u00a0 <\/span>They do it because it is the right thing to do whether it is sending truckloads of donations to Sacred Stone Camp, raising funds for a Van-Go friendship bench or\u00a0 <\/span>supporting Gibson\u2019s concert to raise money to help others with health issues, these students view the world as their community and sometimes members need their support.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jason Marsh During the holidays, opportunities abound to help kids understand why and how to help people in need, with food drives proliferating and countless organizations making pitches for end-of-year donations. And there\u2019s scientific evidence that kids should be receptive to those messages: Research suggests that they have a deeply rooted instinct to\u00a0share\u00a0and to\u00a0help others, from the time they\u2019re very young\u2014one study even found that\u00a0toddlers enjoy giving\u00a0to others more than they like getting treats for themselves. Kids, it seems, have a strong, natural drive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13352,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[56,57,69],"class_list":["post-13351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting","tag-community","tag-grace-and-courtesy","tag-love"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving • Raintree Montessori<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Jason Marsh During the holidays, opportunities abound to help kids understand why and how to help people in need, with food drives proliferating and countless organizations making pitches for end-of-year donations. And there\u2019s scientific evidence that kids should be receptive to those messages: Research suggests that they have a deeply rooted instinct to\u00a0share\u00a0and to\u00a0help others, from the time they\u2019re very young\u2014one study even found that\u00a0toddlers enjoy giving\u00a0to others more than they like getting treats for themselves. Kids, it seems, have a strong, natural drive [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raintree Montessori\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/raintreemontessorischool\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-05T20:50:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/rtr-current\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_0874-scaled-e1575578983116.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Heather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Heather\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"14 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Heather\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3aff834a1dc81622d5985ba0201783b8\"},\"headline\":\"How to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-05T20:50:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2753,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/rtr-current\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/IMG_0874-scaled-e1575578983116.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"community\",\"Grace and Courtesy\",\"love\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Parenting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving • Raintree Montessori\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/rtr-current\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/IMG_0874-scaled-e1575578983116.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-05T20:50:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/rtr-current\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/IMG_0874-scaled-e1575578983116.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/rtr-current\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/IMG_0874-scaled-e1575578983116.jpeg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":2560},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/\",\"name\":\"Raintree Montessori\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Raintree Montessori School\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/rtr-current\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/06\\\/raintreeLogoWeb.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/rtr-current\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/06\\\/raintreeLogoWeb.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Raintree Montessori School\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/raintreemontessorischool\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/raintreemontessori\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/3955600\\\/admin\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3aff834a1dc81622d5985ba0201783b8\",\"name\":\"Heather\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raintreemontessori.org\\\/current\\\/author\\\/heather\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving • Raintree Montessori","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving","og_description":"by Jason Marsh During the holidays, opportunities abound to help kids understand why and how to help people in need, with food drives proliferating and countless organizations making pitches for end-of-year donations. And there\u2019s scientific evidence that kids should be receptive to those messages: Research suggests that they have a deeply rooted instinct to\u00a0share\u00a0and to\u00a0help others, from the time they\u2019re very young\u2014one study even found that\u00a0toddlers enjoy giving\u00a0to others more than they like getting treats for themselves. Kids, it seems, have a strong, natural drive [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/","og_site_name":"Raintree Montessori","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/raintreemontessorischool","article_published_time":"2019-12-05T20:50:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/rtr-current\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_0874-scaled-e1575578983116.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Heather","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Heather","Est. reading time":"14 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/"},"author":{"name":"Heather","@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/#\/schema\/person\/3aff834a1dc81622d5985ba0201783b8"},"headline":"How to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving","datePublished":"2019-12-05T20:50:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/"},"wordCount":2753,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/rtr-current\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_0874-scaled-e1575578983116.jpeg","keywords":["community","Grace and Courtesy","love"],"articleSection":["Parenting"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/","url":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/","name":"How to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving • Raintree Montessori","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/rtr-current\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_0874-scaled-e1575578983116.jpeg","datePublished":"2019-12-05T20:50:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/rtr-current\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_0874-scaled-e1575578983116.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/rtr-current\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_0874-scaled-e1575578983116.jpeg","width":1920,"height":2560},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-love-giving\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Help Kids Learn to Love Giving"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/#website","url":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/","name":"Raintree Montessori","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/#organization","name":"Raintree Montessori School","url":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/rtr-current\/uploads\/2016\/06\/raintreeLogoWeb.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/rtr-current\/uploads\/2016\/06\/raintreeLogoWeb.png","width":800,"height":800,"caption":"Raintree Montessori School"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/raintreemontessorischool","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/raintreemontessori","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/3955600\/admin\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/#\/schema\/person\/3aff834a1dc81622d5985ba0201783b8","name":"Heather","url":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/author\/heather\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13351"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13353,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13351\/revisions\/13353"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raintreemontessori.org\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}