Back on August 6th and 7th, I wrote about some of the things I was learning in Carol Weisman’s slim but inspiring book Raising Charitable Children.

If you have children–or grandchildren–from about four- or five-years old through high school, this book is for you. Weisman offers incredibly helpful, totally practical counsel for parents or grandparents of the entire spectrum. And she is no armchair philosopher; she has “been there and done that.” Moreover, she has obviously thought long and hard about the kinds of practical questions you’d expect most authors to forget.

Some examples:

• When talking about the possibility of taking a volunteer vacation as a family, she urges you to think about what you want to be different after you return home: “Do you want to be rested, or energized? Educated? Spiritually nourished? Tan? Inspired? Thinner? Fitter? Fatter? Closer as a family?”
• In the same chapter: “You can . . . spark a child’s interest in a volunteer vacation by tying it into pop culture. Whatever’s hot in TV, movies and games–George of the Jungle, March of the Penguins, The Amazing Race, etc.– there’s a trip and a volunteer project to match.”
• She has a whole chapter on what to do when your child “comes home with an enormous, inspired idea to change the world” but your family has limited time and money. –Weisman has a wonderful five-page section of how-to questions and answers: “How can I help my child devise a game plan for making his or her philanthropic vision come true?” (Weisman lays out a great list of non-directive questions that will help you create a game plan together with your child.) “How much of my own time and money should I give to my child’s project?” –I am so tempted to quote long sections of this portion of her book but I don’t want to break her copyright. At first you might be tempted to think that the answers to some of these questions are obvious, but as I read her answers, I realized the depth of her wisdom.
• A great chapter on using volunteer work to “strengthen the bonds of family and friendship while teaching kids about charity.” –She talks about a “good deeds” club. But not merely in theory, but from experience. Some of the questions she addresses: For what age groups will such a club work? How large should such a group be allowed to become? How often should we meet? How should we choose our charity projects? . . . And so on.

This one blew me away:

• A chapter on “How can I help my child get involved in giving when he or she isn’t interested in the least–and I’m barely able to hold things together myself?” Amazing!
• She even has a chapter on putting together what I will call a “philosophy of giving.” It’s short–not quite three full pages–but very helpful.
• A great chapter for grandparents who are concerned about the children of (how do I say this delicately?) . . . somewhat . . . ummmm . . . tightfisted . . . children. How can you help them develop a philanthropic perspective? –Again, very insightful.
• And more. (See my posts from August 6th and 7th for two of them!)

Obviously, I liked this book a lot. I encourage you to get a copy, study and apply it.

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