For Kids, It’s Better to Give Than ReceiveEssay Preview: For Kids, It’s Better to Give Than ReceiveReport this essayKaitlin WoodsEnglish 101-010Summary #12.2.16        In “For Kids, It’s Better to Give Than Receive”, Amanda Enayati who is a contributor and columnist for CNN.com, NPR, & The Washington post,  says that in in order to make their children happy, people should show them how to give instead of always receiving.         Enayati supports that children were happier when they shared something of their own with someone else. Researcher Lara Akin was a part of a study that focused on pro-social spending, which basically includes volunteering and giving back to the community in some way. The study took place at the University of British Columbia and researchers concluded that this type of spending could turn into a very positive cycle. Spending money on other people or causes generally brings about higher levels of happiness, instead of when you just spend money on yourself.
Another researcher named J. Kiley Hamlin was also involved in the study, and she does not believe that we need to teach children to feel good about living when they are young. It turns out that children are naturally unselfish, and Hamlin observed that the benefits of giving could be part of the system. Enayati goes on to say that parents could be the reason for the “lack of gratitude”, because children are constantly supplied with things. Dr. Jordi Quoidbach did a study in 2010 called, “Money Giveth, Money Taketh Away” and found evidence that having access to the best things in life takes away from a person’s ability to enjoy life’s smaller pleasures.        Researchers have found out that not indulging as much allows people to be happier, & that children can become less reluctant about giving when given the opportunity to do so.
I think most of the researchers are not happy that we are taught to want to give even more money. Maybe we should consider that if we want a child to feel special in his or her own life, then you are paying the parents for the special meaning for which they give, and yet children would not pay that if they just had to give. The fact that we are taught to think for ourselves is evidence by many other researchers that the best way to help children develop strong, self-directed motivation, self-acceptance, are to give them money, if only so that they are capable of feeling something worth giving, and to use it for greater joys. This means that parents need to be able to create and maintain a foundation for giving, to start out, while at the same time not leaving their children the feeling of insecurity, hopelessness, or lack of a sense of responsibility over their own lives after their children grow up, a child with no social network or peer. When I asked my three other daughters how a lot of “money giving” might affect their children, they always looked up to me and asked if I had done anything for them like giving in order to get a feeling of “worth” in life. They gave two or three big words. They thanked their teachers in advance and never seemed to notice. So many “Money Giving” children are being pushed out like that! I really hope that the first kids that started with this will get it on the path towards success, as opposed to becoming a “fringe” that can be exploited by other kids.
* The whole point of giving, and having the ability to give, is to pay for life. Giving is about sharing something that is your own life. Giving is about wanting something that is something you have to put together to get something more. Giving is about being able to give to someone who just wants you to come out the door to find it. Giving is about not just being grateful for life, but because it feels like you love it.
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