The holidays are a beautiful time of year when we can gather with our families to celebrate the joy of giving, but with kids’ gifts drawing the majority of spend during the holidays it’s all the more important to help kids understand just how fortunate they are.  That’s why it is important to keep kids grounded and focused on giving rather than getting during this holiday season.

Here are some tips from mom insider Laurie Schacht on how to teach your kids the joy of giving:

1. Charity Learn-A-Thon: Take some time this holiday season to teach your kids about some of the wonderful charities out there, and the important work they do. You can even turn it into a fun family trivia game by making flash cards that list charities’ descriptions and getting kids to guess the name of the organization. Then, encourage kids to think about which causes touch their hearts the most. Tykoon has over 75 charities listed on the site with descriptions so it’s a good place for kids to start picking up social awareness.

2. Experience the act of giving: Take a family outing during the holidays to volunteer at your kids’ favorite charities or at a soup kitchen.  This experience can give them a real sense for how important it is to help those in need, and can make lasting impressions and amazing family memories.

3. Pay it forward: It’s easy for kids to lose sight of just how lucky we all are during the holidays, especially as family members shower them with gifts. To help kids remember and share some of their joy with those less fortunate, try instituting a pay-it-forward policy for holiday gifts: For every gift your kids receive, encourage them to donate a certain number of minutes of their time to volunteer for or donate a few dollars to the cause of their choice.

4. It takes a village, so get it involved: Inform extended family and friends about your mission and get them involved! Work together to teach and encourage your kids to give. Consider having family match their contribution for donations and encourage kids to remember those in need.  

5. Manage cash gifts responsibly: Helping your kids manage their holiday cash gifts is a fantastic opportunity to start teaching them the basics of money and set them on the right track to a steady financial future. Help them practice money management skills by making sure that any cash gifts are managed responsibly, with pre-determined percentages going to savings and giving as well as spending.

6. Wishlists for others: When crafting holiday wishlists this year, encourage kids to add in items or donations for those in need, not just for themselves.

Tykoon is an online rewardbank for kids and parenting tool (Web & iOS) that makes it easy to connect with charities and apply all the tips above with built-in wishlists, savings trackers, task lists, direct donations and extended family sharing.  Tykoon allows your kid to determine how much they wish to allocate to giving, choose their favorite charities, and make parent-approved donations. They can earn virtual badges for their donations, and share their activity with parent-approved family and friends. These friends and family members can access the child’s ‘Wishlist’ on the Tykoon shop platform to treat your kids for their efforts.

The post Teaching Your Kids the Joy of Giving appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

Audrey’s greatest fear is to be pregnant or see her friends and loved ones pregnant. She almost died with one of her deliveries. She still shivers when she thinks about that time. The odds are against mothers in her country. An estimated 13,000 women die from pregnancy and delivery related complications each year, most from a lack of proper obstetric care.* Tanzania has the 21^st highest rate of maternal death in Africa. Audrey also worries about children’s health, about babies dying before their time — many from vaccine preventable diseases.

I wish we could all jump on a plane together and visit with Audrey and her friends in Tanzania. However, there is so much we can do from here. From sharing issues on our blogs and via social media, donating as much as we can afford and a bit more, writing letters to influencers and policy makers.

You can join us in taking the Million Moms challenge, a coalition of global health partners for mothers and babies founded by the United Nations Foundation and ABC News. Take action for moms and babies everywhere! There are many things you can do right now. Our donations page takes you to a variety of on-the-ground maternal and child health projects you can support immediately.

This week is World Immunization Week, and our partners at the UN Foundation are launching a powerful campaign called Shot@Life, to help make sure every child gets the vaccines they need to have a shot at a healthy life. Here’s how you can help.

Audrey and her friends are fighting this battle every day. Let’s take a few minutes today to join them.

*Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/tanzania_statistics.html

*Photo courtesy of Bonbon mini

The post On the Path of Pregnancy and Birth Together appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.