Kids Like to Help

I am guessing that every generation has faced the challenge of children.

 It is easy to think that today’s kids are disrespectful brats but if you look back in relatively recent history, there is a theme: the young generation will be the ruination of us all.

Dennis the Menace has been a popular comic since the 1950s and the image of a man in plaid pants standing on his lawn yelling at the neighbourhood mischief maker is vivid in all our minds.

There are stories about mischievous children back into antiquity. The saying, “He (or she) will be the death of us all,” has historically been a reference to children.

Kids are called imps, scalawags, tykes, monkeys, scamps, rapscallions and even monsters.

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Added to this is the phenomenon that every generation of adults thinks that the kids they are dealing with are the worst kids in history.

It is true. Kids are unruly. They are precocious and some are very challenging. The creative and intelligent ones can be particularly awful and have a will of iron. If Dennis the Menace was a real life character, he was likely a genius. Kids have developing brains and ideas of boundaries, consequences and empathy do not come naturally. Even kids with strict parents, make mistakes and stray from the boundaries of good judgment.

That being said, I can’t help but notice that we have some pretty spectacularly wonderful and empathetic children in our communities and kids growing up today – any day – cannot be stereotyped.

As I read through the daily stories on paNOW.com and peruse through the countless news items coming from the grassroots organizations in Community Group News; as I look through Facebook and Twitter, I notice there are kids – a lot of kids of various ages – who are incredibly generous, who are thinking of others before themselves, who are amazingly creative and devoted to their art or their sport. There are kids that balance all the challenges of school, responsibilities at home, lessons or sports practices and still have time to try to raise money for various needs in their communities.

Kids do like to help.

I would say, in fact, that the instinct to help starts in childhood as an anthropological need for survival.

There are many, many stories of kids forgoing birthday presents in lieu of donations to a cause. There are stories of kids with lemon-aid stands, selling hamburgers and various other activities to raise money to help out their community.

When you see the various promotions in grocery stores with names written on them, those are mostly bought because of the begging of a child. Terry Fox Run is another example, so is Telemiracle.

What brings this to mind is that fundraising has already begun for Rawlco’s Radio-a-thon for Give a Little Life.  This year the funds are being raised for equipment in the Nursery and the Pediatric Ward of the Victoria Hospital.

My own son, who was a premature baby and survived due to the incredible staff there, heard they are raising money for equipment and asked if he could busk for money to donate.

So, every Friday – he will be playing music at his favorite place, The Flute and Fiddle in Birch Hills during open mic, asking for donations.

That is easy way for him to use the skill he has as a nine year old to raise money for a cause that has meant a lot for him.

Talk to your kids about helping in their community. Sit down and figure out what they are passionate about and what skills they have that could help them either raise money or volunteer.

Kids are challenging and tough and can sometimes just be so frustrating. But they are also loving, generous and kind, especially when encouraged.

For more information on Liam’s Fundraiser check out http://panow.com/community/news/476985/liams-give-little-life-fundraiser