Around this time each year, many children have made a Christmas wish list that includes items like toys, games, crafts, and electronics. While children may express gratitude and joy in response to receiving gifts, the concept of the generosity of spirit has certainly changed over the years.
It was St. Nicholas’s legendary status of generosity that gave rise to the modern-day tradition of Santa Claus. As the story goes, as a young boy, St. Nicholas was left with a substantial amount of inheritance when his parents died, which he then used to help others, primarily the poor.
St. Nicholas was generous. Generosity is defined as the quality of being kind and giving time, attention or gifts to others without conditions or the expectation of getting something in return. Being generous is seen as a positive virtue in people and has links with other emotions such as empathy and compassion.
The roots of generosity, such as empathy, compassion, and prosocial behavior, begin to develop in the toddler years.
One study of charitable giving by children shows that boys and girls give equally. Research also shows that by the age of nine most children have a good understanding of generosity. As with all aspects of development, as the child ages, greater understanding and mastery of generosity will unfold.
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What role do parents play in socializing children to be more generous? One way is by showing generosity themselves. Research shows that a parent’s level of generosity and charitable behavior is correlated with their child’s display of the same behaviors.
Modeling generosity makes an impression on children and is thus a great first step to fostering this behavior. Siblings can also effectively role model empathy and compassion, and by extension, generosity.
Another way is to talk with children about generosity. Studies have shown that having family discussions about generosity had a stronger influence on children’s charitable behavior than parent role modeling alone.
Giving gifts is certainly part of being generous, but as we all know, the holidays can also be a time of stress and panic about getting the right gift, navigating the shopping mania in stores, and frankly, just paying for everything. All is not lost, however, there are other narratives that parents can use around kids when it comes to generosity.
Sheri Madigan, is an Assistant Professor at the Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
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