Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

How Volunteering Can Help Your Child Get a Better Job

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People gathering food and clothing donations

Many kids avoid volunteering because they don’t want to spend their time doing something for free when they could instead work and make money. I understand that because, as a teen, I never volunteered. Instead, I worked typical teen jobs at places like our local pizza parlor and McDonald’s. However, as my oldest child recently demonstrated, volunteering can help your child get a better job.

My Son’s Volunteering Experience

My husband and I didn’t want our son to get a job during high school. Instead, we wanted him to focus on his academics so he could hopefully get a scholarship to college. (That plan worked; he got good grades and a college scholarship.)

However, he was eager to get out of the house and do something, so he volunteered a lot. One summer, he volunteered at our local library for the kids’ summer reading program; he won an award for the most hours volunteered of any volunteer.

The following summer, he volunteered as a helper at a science and technology camp for elementary school kids. He worked five days a week all summer long. Then, during winter break, he volunteered at that camp again.

How Volunteering Can Help Your Child Get a Better Job

This summer, our son was ready to get a job. He applied to several places and got interviews at two places—as a dishwasher at a local restaurant and a children’s museum. Luckily, he got both jobs, too.

I’m sure he got the job at the children’s museum because of his copious volunteer experience. Otherwise, he would have had to take the entry-level dishwasher job. There are many benefits of the children’s museum job over an entry-level fast-food job that most teens get:

  • Daytime hours (He only has to work between 9 and 5.)
  • Retirement benefits (The museum requires him to set some aside for retirement, and the business matches his contributions. This is an excellent benefit that most teens don’t have access to.)
  • Gaining experience for future jobs. (As someone interested in history, he’s building his skill set at this job. It likely will help him get an even better job in the future.)

Help Your Child Selectively Choose His Volunteer Experiences

If you want to help set your child up for a good entry-level job, help your child selectively choose his volunteer experiences. For example, if he’d like to work at a veterinarian office, encourage him to get volunteer experience with animals.

If she’d like to teach in the future, encourage her to volunteer with children. Or, if she would like to work with adults, she could volunteer at a literacy program.

Final Thoughts

Volunteering allows your child to give back to the community and feel good about herself and her efforts. However, volunteering can also help your child get a better job, especially if she volunteers in the field she would eventually like to work in.

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Entertaining Kids During Christmas Break

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Entertaining Children Chirstmas BreakWith kids being out of school for a few weeks during the Christmas break, it’s easy to run out of ideas on how to entertain them. Growing up, my mom would send me to the mall with friends, handing me $40.00 to basically entertain myself for the day. While a nice treat once in a while, for most families, especially during the holiday season, this would quickly add up to be a big budget buster.

Here are a few ideas to entertain the kids (young and old) while on their Christmas break:

Host a Gingerbread House Building Party

This is loads of fun for kids of all ages. Have your child invite their friends over, either with a gingerbread house kit in hand, or you can provide the house for them (using an easy recipe and template). Have candy provided in dishes (on your well wrapped table, it will be messy!) and let them have fun creating. Don’t want to do a whole house? Try decorating gingerbread or sugar cookies instead.

Have them Volunteer

While volunteering with your children year round is encouraged, Christmas is usually a time when extra help is needed. Soup kitchens and food banks in particular are often looking for extra help during the season. If your child is under the age of 16, you may either need to grant permission or be present. Check to see if your local mall needs gift wrappers. Many malls offer gift wrapping services, often provided by volunteers, with funds raised going to local charities. Although this should never be the only reason why one does it, volunteer work looks great on university and college applications too.

Host a Christmas Themed Pajama Movie Party/Sleepover

Have a few of your kids friends over for a fun night of watching Christmas movies in their PJ’s (sleepover or not, you have to be comfy!). Provide a few snacks or have them help you make a homemade pizza and you’ve got yourself a budget-friendly party. You could even make use of one of the best vpns for torrenting and download the movies the kids want to watch in advance so that you don’t have to worry about the dreaded buffering sign appearing during the movie and derailing things when everyone is quiet and engaged in the magic of Christmas movies.

Go Outside and Play

Especially in today’s technology driven world, we forget about the simplicity of encouraging outdoor play without an abundance of toys. Encourage them to explore; pick up a stick and use their imagination! Make sure they’re well bundled if you’re fortunate enough to live in a cold winter environment and let them enjoy the fresh air.

Have them Help You Prep Meals for the Holidays.

Most kids like to explore in the kitchen. It’s a great opportunity to have the learn some kitchen skills from you and your family. Yes, it will take longer than if you did it yourself and yes, your kitchen will likely be much messier but the skills that you’ll be able to teach are much more important than some spilled flour.

Check to See if Your Local Theater Offers Christmas Break Discounts

Most movie theater chains will offer discounted tickets during the local school break as a way of encouraging the movie-going experience so check it out!

Crafts

Have your kids make everything from Christmas cards or gift tags to tree ornaments. The possibilities are endless and most require very few supplies. Who wouldn’t love a homemade card from your young one?

Encourage the Inner Entrepreneur

If you have older kids, encourage them to use their time off to make some money during their break. Ideas include: shoveling driveways, offering to get groceries (or run errands) for people who need extra help, or dog walking for people who may be away or just too busy to do it themselves.

Christmas can be stressful enough, you shouldn’t have to worry about what your kids are going to be doing while off from school. With a little creative planning, you can quickly fill their time without breaking the bank!

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Teaching Volunteer Values to Your Children

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kids volunteering with dogAs the winter holidays approaches, it seems as though the entire world works itself into a frenzy of giving, both financially and in other ways. Regardless of your family’s traditions or spiritual beliefs, the winter holidays can be a great time of year to teach one of the most valuable lessons you can teach your children: how to love.

Set The Example

We constantly tell our children to be nice, to be polite, to share, to give, to be kind. But as with any other lesson, it is important to set the example you want your children to emulate. The winter holidays are a time for giving, loving and sharing; to teach this to your children, it’s important to get them involved with giving, loving and sharing with the community.

Unfortunately, it can be a lot harder to find ways to give when you are keeping a strict budget. Cold and wet weather are also seen as deterrents to volunteering, especially when dealing with small children. Yet, there are a lot of ways to get your kids in the mind frame of giving back without having to brave freezing temperatures or spend a fortune.

Here are a few key points to remember when seeking volunteer opportunities with your children:

  • Focus on the message. To start brain-storming ideas for your children, begin by zeroing in on exactly what you want to teach them. Why do you think that it is important to volunteer? How you answer that question will impact the activities you choose. For example, if your family is religious, you may want to choose an activity with a religious message. Look for an organization with religion-related events.
  • Find something fun! If you choose tedious, boring work for you children to partake in, you may be inadvertently teaching them that volunteering is tedious and boring. These jobs, such as sorting clothes or sitting at a booth, are still important; but you may want to start the experience with fun activities and gradually sprinkle in these less exciting opportunities.
  • Be prepared to field questions from your children. Helping out in a soup kitchen can be a lot of fun, but younger children won’t understand the concept of not having a home. Do some thinking before taking your children to places like this, and be prepared with answers in advance so you aren’t caught off guard. This also goes for domestic violence shelters, terminally-ill hospital wards, or any particularly heart-wrenching situation. These places are what make volunteering so special: but it is a heavy message to teach. Don’t necessarily shy away from it, but prepare yourself and your children as best as you can, which may mean waiting another year or so.
  • Make home-made holiday cards for residents of a nursing home or hospital.
  • Play with Animals.  Take your children to the local Humane Society and spend an hour playing with the animals.
  • Pick out a toy to take to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. All of these activities cost relatively little, but teach a clear and positive message.

If you do decide that you want to do an activity that costs more money, get your children involved in a family piggy bank dedicated to the holiday season. Even a dollar a week can buy Thanksgiving dinner for several families, a winter coat for a child in need, or mittens for dozens of children.

Do you volunteer with your children? How did you teach the value of giving back?