It has been very imperative to me to teach my four-year-old about philanthropy and am excited she is finally old enough to start understanding the importance of helping others.

I feel it is really important to teach her about philanthropy early so she is in the habit of thinking of others and how she can help make a difference for the better. I have worked for Feed The Children for almost five years and am very fortunate to see the very best in people every day. I have also seen firsthand how one person can make a difference and change the world for the better. It has forever changed my life and I want my daughter to grow up to be a kind woman who helps others. This year, we adopted an angel from Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. I started with the Angel Tree program because I thought since she could “adopt” a little girl that is her age and shop for a toy that she would want herself, would make an impact. I have been working with her on explaining what we are doing as well, which it seems she understands, for the most part. I honestly wasn’t expecting her to completely get it this year, but wanted to lay the groundwork to start traditions with her.

A very helpful website I found while researching was http://www.learningtogive.org/parents/ This website has literature guides to help parents teach children about giving. I found several stories to share with my daughter. There are also helpful toolkits for older children to teach them character education.

I would love to hear how other parents have taught/are teaching their child(ren) about philanthropy. Please share your stories!

[Editor's Note: Families can find great ways to help others in our Guide to Giving Back and our list of Volunteer Opportunities in the OKC Metro.]