Community service excellent for kids

Parents dream of raising a child who makes the world a better place. But if it’s hard to imagine your own offspring as a budding Albert Schweitzer, take heart, said Dr. Richard Gallagher from the New York University Child Study Center.

"Parents often underestimate their kids’ desire to make a difference," said Gallagher. "The good news is that today there are more opportunities than ever to get kids involved in community service." Gallagher offers these tips to help parents get kids started:

•Be a role model. Even if you have limited time to volunteer yourself, consider how you talk about others. Praise people who are making a difference. Show tolerance for those who make mistakes.

• Teach kids to help others starting at a young age. Even preschool children can learn to contribute around the house, share, and help siblings. Starting around first grade, encourage volunteer activities outside the family. Depending on the child’s age and interests, activities might include playing with dogs at a local animal shelter, volunteering at the local library or walking to fight disease.

Check United Way for listings of volunteer activities.

• Encourage your child to take part in a youth program, which can help by providing structure and incentive for volunteering. For example, the free Start Something program from Target and the Tiger Woods Foundation has enrolled more than 2.5 million youths and awarded more than $1,000,000 in scholarship funds to kids who are reaching for their dreams and making the world a better place. Find out more at www.target.com/start something.

•Help your child set aside regular time for volunteer activities, such as taking part in a community cleanup day. Committing a couple of hours per week is a good goal.

• Talk about local, national and international issues that your child may want to help address. For example, your child can help address the issue of hunger by collecting canned food for a local homeless shelter. Or your family might want to take action together to support relief efforts for a natural disaster overseas.

Most important, get started. Once kids see that they can begin to make a contribution, they may want to do more. And in helping others, they also help themselves.

This story provided by North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.