Years ago, while on a lengthy family road trip with my wife and three kids, I stopped at a convenience store to fill up with gas and to grab some snacks. I was so proud of our kids. They were so patient and behaved so well that I decided to surprise them with their favorite candy.  

My son, Luke, who was still in a car seat at the time, loved the candy called “Nerds,” so I decided to buy a large box of Nerds and give him the box of candy as a reward for his good behavior.  

Once we got back on the highway, I looked at Luke through the rearview mirror as he was eating his candy; I reached my hand back toward him and said, “Luke, can I have some Nerds?” Suddenly, he held his box of Nerds close to his chest, tightly squeezed the box, and shook his head no. I said, “Come on, Luke, let me have some Nerds.” Again, he squeezed his candy box tightly, shaking his head no.

After repeated requests, his firm answer was no. I thought to myself, “You little nerd!” I couldn’t believe he was being so stingy after I had done something nice for him.  

What he didn’t realize is that technically those Nerds didn’t belong to him. I bought those Nerds with my money. Secondly, I could have stopped the car, got out, and taken the Nerds from him. Lastly, if I chose to do so, I could have bought a large abundance of Nerds and poured them over his head to shower him with Nerds of blessings.  

How many times have opportunities been presented to us to give back or be generous to others through acts of kindness and generosity, yet our response is often like Luke’s? We hold on tightly to what we have to give and shake our heads no.

The Christmas season is the perfect opportunity to teach our kids the spirit of giving. Very often, our children are focused on getting the latest gadget or must-have toy that they miss the opportunities to give to others. In our consumer-focused culture, it’s easy for our kids to lose perspective on what life is all about when they are focused on getting instead of giving.  

Three Lessons on Giving to Pass on to Your Kids

1. Giving is always rewarded.

Calvin Coolidge once said, “No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” Teaching our children the rewards of generosity will inspire them to be grateful and more generous with what they have. One of the best principles to teach our kids is the law of sowing and reaping. Teaching them to sow seeds of kindness by showing kindness to others will help them reap kindness in return. When we teach them to give more time to others, they will also receive more time from others. We will always reap the rewards and blessings in return when we sow generosity into those around us.  

2. Giving closes the door to materialism. 

Instant gratification and the desire to have more are the norms of our culture. It is essential to remind our children that newer, bigger, smaller and faster don’t guarantee happiness. The desire to crave more “things” breeds discontentment and dissatisfaction. It is important to teach our kids that there is nothing wrong with having nice things or having new things, but when it becomes an obsession or a false sense of security, it can become very destructive and rob us of the joy of giving. If you want to be in charge of your heart, don’t allow possessions to take charge of you.  

3. Giving is a reflection of our hearts. 

I heard someone once say, “What’s in you will flow through you.” A person with a heart for helping others is also a person who is less focused on themselves and more focused on others. They fully understand the Golden Rule, which states: It is more blessed to give than to receive. A grateful heart is a generous heart. A person with a generous heart sees giving not as something they have to do but something they get to do. Take advantage of this holiday season to teach these three lessons to your kids. Better yet, lead the way by example. Adopt a family or a child this Christmas who is under-resourced or less fortunate by giving them a gift or doing something nice for them, for the very purpose of being a blessing. Let’s teach our kids that giving is the highest level of living.