Children can get something important from giving - The Clarion-Ledger

Children can get something important from giving - The Clarion-Ledger: "Children can get something important from giving
By Samantha Critchell
The Associated Press

The Associated Press

If kids are confused by the volume of people around town in furry red suits, explain they are pitching in and helping Santa out this time of year.


NEW YORK — The toughest balancing act for parents this season might not be the budget — although that can be pretty hard, too.

For many families, the tightrope is: How to make a holiday celebration happy and memorable for their children while teaching them about charity and humility?

And for the youngest kids, there's also the issue of Santa Claus. How come he might visit your house bearing a big bundle of gifts but doesn't do the same for everyone?
Santa needs helpers, says Susan McLaughlin, director of corporate philanthropy for Toys 'R' Us, and that's what parents could tell children both when they ask about giving to others and about the abundance of people in red furry suits."