I am a person who is deeply interested in the welfare of others. In that vein, I try to contribute to the welfare of others whenever possible. I volunteer for different causes that interest me. I make an effort to contribute to my community. I try to be kind, and I encourage my child to do the same.
Since my daughter started having birthday parties at age four, she’s always donated to a particular cause for her birthday. Once, this was the local hospital for children. Twice, it’s been animal rescue organizations. This year she decided to raise money for Operation Smile, an organization that helps children with cleft lips and palates lead normal lives by repairing their cleft lips with a simple operation.
The first few years of donating became a habit. My daughter was interested, but not overly interested. This was just what we did: on your birthday, you donated money to a cause.
However, this year has been different. This year for the first time, she’s actually excited about giving. We watched many short clips about how children’s lives have been changed through Operation Smile, and she was moved almost to tears. She understood how children would feel sad if people didn’t like them and want to play with them. She was sad that children weren’t able to take part in their community without shame.
Sometimes, learning works like this. You do something with your child, and it becomes a habit. However, it is not until much later that the habit becomes meaningful. Your child realizes that what he’s doing is important for its own sake, not just because it’s something you’ve asked him to do. Now, I’m an unschooler at heart, but I also believe in actively transmitting my values to my child, and doing this through habits. I’m happy to see that this year, this way of teaching and learning has had an impact.