Nowadays with the recession of economy in a lot of countries, with more and more people losing jobs, it is important that we all do our part to help out. As parents, the best thing that we can do is to bring up our children in a way that they are socially conscious, and generally charitable–aware of the poverty of other people and not apathetic to it. Here are tips on how you can give raise a child who knows how to help others.

Be a generous and caring parent. Being generous doesn’t mean you have to spoil them with toys or big pocket money. As you provide for their needs and some of their special requests, their eyes will be opened to the concept of giving.

Take them to a charity. While it’s good to tell stories about people in need to raise your kids’ awareness, letting him see the actual setting will be more effective. There is more sympathy to be felt with seeing suffering than hearing about it.

Teach them how to save. After orienting him about the lives of the less fortunate, you can encourage your children to save and donate. Even if your child has very little resources, you can teach him that a few cents a week can change lives if he’s willing to contribute.

Teach your child about donating hand-me-downs. Your child has more clothes and toys to give away than money. Give them a small box and ask them to fill it with their stuff which they don’t need anymore.

Do outreach as a family. You can help your child become more familiar with charity by involving the rest of the family member in an outreach activity. If he sees and experiences doing charity as a family, the experience is bound to be more meaningful and memorable.