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Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling

Tzedaka

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yehudis

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 7:37 pm

I have a question. How do you teach young children how important it is to give tzedaka without them getting so enthusiastic about it that they take away all your change?

Both my kids (3.5 y.o. and 1.5 y.o.) love giving tzedaka. The baby even tries to pronounce the word Smile

. But they keep asking me, several times a day, to let them put a coin into the pushke. And today, the 3.5 y.o. took several rolls of quaters while I wasn't watching and put them all in. Now I have no change to do my laundry! I was very upset with her, but on the other hand, I must be sending her conflicting messages -- that tzedaka is so great, but that Mommy gets upset when you give too much.

Any advice?

Thanks.
Yehudis

Motek

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 7:54 pm

hmmm, it should be your biggest problem that your kids want to give lots of tzedaka! Smile

but I can see that this can be annoying

as far as taking the quarters without permission - you can handle that by laying down the law that she can never take money without permission

and as far as their asking several times a day - how about if you have a "meeting" with them and decide when you will give tzedaka
get them (mainly the older one) to agree that you will give tzedaka before you daven in the morning, and certain other times that you specify

then if they ask you if they can put a coin in, you can refer to the next designated time you made up in advance

if you like charts, you can make a tzedaka chart and mark off when you gave tzedaka, and then when the older one asks you can look at the chart and say, we gave before davening and the next time we'll give will be ---

also, with your older child, she might have money of her own, like chanuka gelt, and she can give from her own money

one final bit of advice, collect pennies so you have them handy for them to use for tzedaka

Motek

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 8:11 pm

and check with a rav - I bet you can take those quarters back out of the pushka

just because a 3 yr. old put it in, doesn't mean it has to stay there

it wasn't theirs to give

rydys

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 8:12 pm

keep in mind--1 quarter= 25 pennies, and the kids don't know the difference!

Tefila

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 8:22 pm

Quote:

and the kids don't know the difference!

rydys, ahem don't underestimate kids even a 2yr old knows size and color Exclamation

Motek

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 8:33 pm

size and color but not value!

which is why little kids would prefer a nickel to a dime! 8)

zuncompany

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 9:25 pm

I have this problem, so now we keep a cup of pennies next to his pushka. He can put them in as much as he wants. We started this because he did the same thing with the quarters. I was told that I could change them out for bills (so I could use the change), but the money is in there!

Also... I have a pushka for him that I take the change back out each day so he can put them back in.

sara

gryp

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 9:57 pm

this thread made me laugh!!!
how cute and generous and wise our kids are.
my Mendel knows every morning after breakfast :arrow: pushka

a few weeks ago, I had a sticker and I wanted to give it to Mendel so he can feel the texture and see it stick to his finger. so I said "Mendel, heres a sticker!" and he took it from me and marched straight to the pushka. I realized that sticker and tzedaka can sound the same if you say it funny...
but I was so proud of him!

Rochel Leah

Tue, Dec 14 2004, 10:26 pm

being that everyone is telling stories on their kids generousity I'll add mine too..My son loves to give tzedakah too, Since the idea of chanukah gelt is to teach kids the idea of tzedakah , on the first night we gave SZ a dollar( in Canada they are a coin) as well as penny fro tzedakah. Obviously when we gave him the pushka to put the penny in, he grabbed the dollar and put that in to .( DOnt worry..we gave him another dollar as gelt.so we could buy him a toy at the end of chanukah with all the gelt he gets from family members)

curlyhead

Wed, Dec 15 2004, 5:11 am

Kids are spiritual - they only see money as tzedaka. My son calls coins tzedka

I also save all my dollor coins for the laundry. I have a container for dollar coins for laundry next to my detergant.

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