Continuing the Generosity Journey: Teens & Giving

For parents of teens on the threshold of adulthood, Christmas and end of the year holidays can be a time to enjoy simply being together, and shiny wrapped presents can begin to take more of a back seat. Giving and receiving are still prevalent, though, and we can use this for conversation in a broader and deeper context.

Our last blog talked about young children being seen as selfish and unwilling to share, which is in our opinion a somewhat incomplete and unfair assessment. Well, we adopt the same stance with teens. Let’s face it, teens often get a bad rap. They can get written off as self-centered, uncaring, etc. Our observation is that if we give teenagers a positive cause to be passionate about, an opportunity to use their voice, and we are willing to listen with open hearts and minds, most teens will blow us away with their level of care and insight.

What would happen if you took the time and resources to involve your teen(s) in your charitable giving practices?

Teens are at a stage where they intuitively are checking to see if they are being seen and heard by those adults they are surrounded with.  As parents and grandparents, it is important to ask and listen.

If we get a shoulder shrug from a teen who seems apathetic or self-centered, perhaps it will help to let them know that what they think about needs around them matters to us, as they are the future leaders of their community.  Ask straightforward questions that get to the heart of the matter.  For example: Are there fellow students who are struggling? What are they struggling with?  Any ideas as to what types of things help students in these types of situations?  Should we look to see if there are any agencies that are set up to provide help and resources?  If we help teens to develop a voice, we will find very few of these young people are actually apathetic or uncaring, and in fact they just need to know that someone believes in them and cares about what they have to say.

For teens that have an advanced worldview and understanding of what is going on in the world at a regional, national and international scale, we could engage with them to find out about policy-level initiatives, to help fuel these future leaders with the idea that it is possible for things to change for the better, through the actions of caring individuals who unite to form like-minded communities.

At GiveWise, we provide a simple action step with our “Share Funds With Others” feature. You can use your GiveWise account to provide your teen(s) with some tangible resources to fund the cause(s) they believe in.  This can be an avenue to show your teens that you are in support of them caring for the world around them, and also for continued meaningful conversation. This is also helpful for grandparents who have a very hard time knowing what to get their teenage grandkids for Christmas!