teach a child to say, “Gimme that!” or “I want another one!” Greed comes
naturally to all of us. It’s easy to want more than what we have. Children ages
2-11 see an average of 25,600 advertisements a year. These ads parade everything
from fast food to cereal, movies, to toys. The more your children hear about the
latest gadget, comic strip hero, or mouth watering potato chip, the more they
will ask you for them.
Greed is not a new problem because of the rise of
technology. The Apostle John wrote that “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life comes not from the Father but from the world” (1
John 2:16). These words written thousands of years ago ring true today.
toys, video games, iPhones, and they want them (the lust of the eyes). They
desire to possess the same stuff that their classmates have and even more (the
pride of life).
So how can you raise kids who aren’t always asking for
more? How can you raise a generous child who is not following the lead of this
world?
Use screen time wisely. Television is still the number one
place kids are spending their media time which means they are watching a lot of
commercials. They are also seeing ads online. Eighty-seven percent of the most
popular children’s websites carry advertising with 3 billion display ads for
food and beverages. Out of these 3 billion ads, one third of them offer premiums
with purchases. Advertisers are vying for your child’s attention and your
dollars. Limit your child’s screen time and you will limit their exposure to
advertisements. Your child can’t want what they don’t know about.
Read books about characters that help others. When a child reads
and gets engrossed in the struggles of a character in a book, he or she becomes
more empathetic and generous to others in real life. When my son Ethan was in
fourth grade, he read about Corrie ten Boom and her courage in hiding Jews
during World War II. Learning about Corrie made Ethan much more grateful for the
safety he experiences. Good books can influence our children to be generous to
others in extraordinary ways both now and in the future.
Expose your
children to poverty. Whether it’s taking your kids on a missions trip,
supporting a child through an organization like Compassion International, or
watching videos of children who live in a developing nation, you must show your
children that not everyone lives like they do in America. Explain that there are
many kids around the world who don’t have running water. You might serve only
rice and beans for one day to illustrate the diet of many children worldwide.
I remember one time we headed for a restaurant as a family to use a
coupon. When we pulled up to the restaurant, it was closed…permanently! My kids
wailed about their hunger. I said, “Now kids, there are millions around the
world who feel this hunger every day.” My son replied, “But they are used to it,
and we’re not!” We had a good laugh and it certainly illustrated to all of us
how good we really have it.
Engage in service as a family. Pray
for opportunities to serve others so you can model generosity to your children.
You might see a single mom who looks overwhelmed at a fast food restaurant and
you could pay her bill. We live close to the Mexican border and our friend was
going to the dump to bring sandwiches to the people who live there. It was not
appropriate for our kids to go to that dump, but we were able to spread
mayonnaise and assemble 200 sandwiches for those families.
As you model
generosity yourself and pray to keep greed at bay in your own life, you will
teach your kids to do the same. Highlight generosity in your home by lavishing
praise on your children when they are generous to each other or to a friend.
Dennis Prager said, “Goodness is about character – integrity, honesty, kindness,
generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about
how we treat other people.” As your children live out the Golden Rule of
treating others how they would want to be treated, they will become examples of
generosity in this gimme-gimme more world.
[written by Arlene
Pellicane]
