Children Can Benefit From Thinking Of Others This Christmas
As Oxfam launches its first ever range of charity gifts for children this Christmas, a leading child expert has said that early adoption of philanthropic thinking can help build children’s character and link into educational achievement, social mobility, future employment and general wellbeing.
According to Jean Gross, child expert, author of ‘Psychology and Parenthood’ and a member of the Demos Character Inquiry Panel: "Encouraging empathy and compassion in children from a young age builds their core social and emotional awareness skills, which can not only reduce aggression, depression and anti-social behaviour but develop resilience, optimism and self-worth."
Gross, who led the development of a national programme used widely in schools to develop social and emotional skills, says: "These social and emotional skills, ‘Character’, fall outside numeracy, literacy and academic abilities but are increasingly recognised to boost educational achievement throughout a child’s life.
"And looking ahead to their futures, more and more employers are actively looking for these skill sets.
"The new Oxfam Unwrapped kids’ range is an ideal stepping stone for parents. The gifts are designed to help children feel connected with young people living in poverty and to open their eyes to different social issues, from health and education to the fact that girls in some parts of the world get less chance of an education than boys.
"Children receiving these gifts feel empowered about the role they can play in helping others and in the long-term can become better-rounded individuals."
These benefits are backed up by YouGov which found that a number of parents believe there is an appetite for a less materialistic Christmas.
More than a third (36%) of parents of young children (5-7 year-olds) believed their children would like to receive a Christmas gift that would actually help other less fortunate children around the world.
Many of these parents also thought that Christmas should be less money-orientated, with four out of five (81%) admitting that Christmas has become too materialistic and nearly three quarters (71%) saying that the festive season is a time to think of those less fortunate than us.
Tagged in Parenting