ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire)—The average American gives 2.6 percent of their income to charity each year. Giving typically isn’t a skill that’s stressed in financial classes, but a new study shows kids learn to give by watching their parents.
When it comes to money, you might teach your kids how to spend it and save it, but what about how to give it away? A new study shows children learn the value of financial giving at home. Researchers interviewed 115 participants, including college students, their parents, and grandparents. Although they weren’t specifically asked about financial giving, 83 percent of the volunteers said giving or sharing was a way they learned about money from their parents.
Parents in the study said they taught their kids about giving through modeling, talking to kids about why it’s important, and by making sure kids have opportunities to practice giving. Another simple way to help your kids give is to use the “Three Jar” method. Have your child put some of their allowance money in a “save” jar, some in a “spend” jar, and some in a “share” jar. When the share jar gets full, they can donate it to their favorite charity. The research shows people who are generous tend to be happier, healthier, and live longer lives.
Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Supervising Producer; Julie Marks, Writer; Roque Correa, Editor.
Produced by Child Trends News Service in partnership with Ivanhoe Broadcast News and funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
(Sources: https://www.1fortheworld.org/blog/2017/10/24/the-average-american-gives-29-to-charity-every-year-how-much-do-you-give, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190528193017.htm, https://time.com/4857777/generosity-happiness-brain/)