How to Help Your Child Think About GIVING at Christmas more than GETTING - Lindsey Bell on The Mom Initiative

How to Help Your Kids Think More about GIVING at Christmas Than GETTING

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I’d love to tell you that my children think more about GIVING at Christmas than they do about GETTING. I’d love to tell you that we spend just as much time serving others as we do shopping for ourselves. 

Unfortunately, if you look at my checking account, credit card statement, or simply watch my family throughout the month, you’ll know that’s not the case. 

My seven-year-old has a wish list that is literally two pages long (and growing)! When he added yet another item to his list yesterday, I realized we might need to change our focus. 

My guess is, you might be able to relate too. 

How to Help Your Child Think About GIVING at Christmas more than GETTING - Lindsey Bell on The Mom Initiative

Your Kids Might Be Too Focused on GETTING If…

  1. They have a wish list that is constantly growing. 
  2. They don’t want to spend any of THEIR money on presents but insist on spending YOURS. 
  3. They are constantly asking for the next new gadget they see on television. 
  4. They refuse to help around the house (or whine and throw fits when you ask them to). 
  5. They display an attitude of entitlement any time you tell them “no.” 
  6. They seem to be completely clueless about the fact that money does not grow on trees. 
  7. They say they “need” something, when in reality, their room is already too full to fit much else into.  

Anything I’m missing? Have your children shown some of these same tendencies? 

And what can we do about it? 

I love Christmas. I love seeing the looks on my kids’ faces when they open a gift they’ve been asking for. So the answer isn’t to nix gifts altogether. 

Here are a few ideas instead. 

How to Help Them Focus More on Giving at Christmas: 

1. Look in the mirror. 

Ouch, right? Sometimes, I love the fact that my kids follow in my footsteps (those rare times when I see my children do something good that they learned from me). But other times, like when I see a bad attitude in my child that I have displayed first, I cringe. 

The truth is, if our kids are too focused on GETTING, it’s at least a possibility that we are too. 

If our wish lists are as long as our kids’, they might be learning from us. 

2. Spend time serving together. 

There is no better way to help a child learn contentment than through serving. When we are around those who are less fortunate, we realize how blessed we are. 

3. Cut back on gifts this year. 

Because really, do your kids need every item on their list? I know mine don’t.

I love the idea of giving kids three gifts each year: something they need, something they want, and something new to read. If this seems like too much of a cut, start slower. 

4. Encourage them to spend their own money on gifts for others (or maybe even require it). 

When kids spend their own money of the gifts they buy, the gifts mean more to them. They also seem to take more joy in giving them to others. 

5. However many new items they receive, give away an equal number of items. 

I began doing this with clothing and have now started doing it with my kids and their toys too. Every year before Christmas, we go through their things and gather up some of them to give to a local children’s home. 

Not only do we make room in our home for the new items we will receive at Christmas, but we also get to bless those kids! 

What other suggestions would you add to this list? 

Lindsey Bell
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