by Jeanne Ching
Recently, I overheard a conversation between my friend, Tin, and a one-year-old child, Alyson. Tin offered Alyson some cookies from a jar. As soon as Alyson slipped her hand in the jar, Tin reminded her to take only one cookie. Instead, Alyson took a handful! So then, Tin told Alyson to share the cookies she got with the people around her. At first, the child was hesitant, but with some prodding, she soon gave in and gave away cookies cheerfully.
It’s never too early to teach a child how to share. As I observed, even a one-year-old child can learn to share. Alyson saw that everyone around her was happy when she shared her cookies. After all, God loves a cheerful giver.
Show children how much fun it is to share. Once my cousin, her husband and their children bought hamburgers and drove around town handing them out to the less fortunate children they came across begging on the street. That day, my cousin’s little ones learned how privileged they were to have food when they were hungry and they learned that they could make other people happy by being generous.
Encourage children to share their toys. Toys, especially electronic gadgets like tablets, are expensive. You can’t always afford to buy one toy for each of your children. Teach children to share by setting time limits on the use of the toy or gadget so that each one can have a turn. Instead of playing individual games, encourage children to participate in interactive games so that they can play together.
Finally, model sharing and generosity. While on my way to work recently, an elderly man knocked at my window asking for food. I happened to have a few cupcakes so I gave them to the man. My nephew, who was with me at that time, immediately asked, “Don’t you like the cupcakes, why did you give them away?” I told him, “That man needs the food more than I do, so I shared it with him.”
Our actions will impact our children more powerfully than our words.
