U is for Unselfish #AtoZChallenge

For the A to Z Challenge, I have chosen the theme of characters. On my normal blogging days, Monday – parenting, Wednesday – quotes, and Thursday – writing/publishing, I will focus on characteristics. On the other days (Tuesday, Friday and Saturday), I will write about characters from movies, TVs or books.

Today on the A to Z blogging challenge, the letter is U. On Mondays, I typically write about a parenting issue so for the letter U, I chose teaching your children to be Unselfish.

It is a natural impulse for children to think and act selfishly. We come into this world hard-wired to look out for ourselves. You can see it as early as the toddler years when everything is “mine!” It is never too early to start on promoting sharing! You can explain that it is “nice” for now and leave the reasons for later.

Teaching your child to be unselfish is an important one if you want them to relate well with others. Here are a few tips for working toward this goal.

1.) Model Good Behavior – Children learn by example. If they see their parents acting compassionately toward others, they will repeat that behavior.

2.) Point Out Examples – Watch for and point out examples of other people exhibiting unselfish behavior such as stopping what they are doing to answer question or sharing what they have.

3.) Praise – When you notice your child being unselfish, point it out and praise them. It can be even something as small as letting a friend have the last cookie even though they wanted it.

Remember, being unselfish does not come naturally. It must be taught!

If you missed the other days in the A to Z Challenge:

A is for Alice

B is for Belgarath

C is for Cautious Child

D is for Dana Scully

E is for Enthusiasm (Quote) and Southwestern Eggrolls (Recipe)

F is for Flaky Character

G is for Gandalf

H is for Huckleberry Finn

I is for Independence

J is for Jason Bourne