Tooth Fairy spending skyrocketed in 2013 and shows no signs of slowing down. A survey by Visa shows that American children are receiving an average of $3.70 per lost tooth this year, which is a dramatic increase of 23% over the $3.00 per tooth left in 2012 and 42% over the $2.60 left in 2011. Based on this rate of return, a child would net a substantive $74 for a full set of 20 baby teeth.
Kids are busier than ever. Between a full schedule during the school day and all the extracurricular activities after school, when does a kid have time to relax? It’s important that children have interests outside of school and family, but how much is too much?
Getting kids into volunteering builds character, develops empathy and allows them to learn about their community. Here are ten reasons why it’s important to get your kids to volunteer.
#1: Volunteering helps foster empathy.
Empathy is the most critical disposition for responding to the needs of others. We need to be able to imagine what other people may be going through or feeling. Volunteering helps engage our natural empathic sense, but you have to make sure that there are opportunities to talk about the purpose and experience of any volunteer activity if the recipients aren’t visible in the process (making sandwiches for the homeless isn’t the same as helping to deliver the sandwiches to homeless people).
