Easy Ways to Give Back With Your Kids [February]

One of my parenting goals for this year is to do more volunteering activities with my 3 year old son. While we have done some activities to give back to the community, I usually need motivation to get execute the activities. Giving Families is a great organization that provides Good Mail Challenges, which are monthly activities that parents and children can do to give back to the community together.

The Good Mail Challenges are sent out on a monthly basis in the form of a newsletter. Each month, there is an activity to give back to the community. Alternative activities are also available in case the main activity cannot be completed for any reason. I really like the alternative options because they do not make me feel like I have to complete the one activity to give back to the community. I have several activities to choose from that fit my family and schedule.

Let's talk about the challenges! The February challenge was to visit a nursing home during "Social Hour." Visiting elderly neighbors allows us to make new friends and bring brightness to their days. Since my son is under 3 and it was the sick season, we decided to look at one of the alternative activities. remember not to take sick kids to nursing homes!

For our February challenge, we chose to bring a meal to a neighbor who was recovering from a medical emergency. We baked banana muffins and prepped a chicken pasta casserole. Then, my son and I took the meal and snacks over to their house. Instead of taking the stroller as we usually do for walks, we both walked on foot because the neighbor lived close. The neighbor was very grateful for the delicious food we brought. On the way back home, we talked about helping friends in need. It was a great activity to do together with my son!

One of the things that I like about the Good Mail Challenges from Giving Families is that I have great suggestions for ways that our family can give back to the community together. I can choose an activity that is appropriate for my son's age and fits without our schedule.

Become a member to receive monthly Good Mail Challenge newsletter (via snail mail). You can even have them sent in your child's name so they can get excited about receiving mail!

Or sign up for a free email newsletter with tips and tricks on raising compassionate and giving kids.