These holidays, get your child to volunteer. You won’t regret it

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volunteering rate in Singapore increased from 22 per cent in 2021 to 30 per cent in 2023

Those who volunteered over the past year were in better physical health, had a more positive outlook on life, and were less likely to exhibit anxiety, depression, or behavioural problems compared with others who did not volunteer.

seeing the living conditions of some of these households was a real eye-opener for us.

the experiences help to nip their sense of entitlement. After all, with the increasing affluence of our society, it can be easy to raise children who feel like they are the centre of the universe, and who expect others to give in to their whims and demands. ...., it may help to re-orientate their self-centredness to other-centredness

volunteerism gives us some respite from the digitally saturated world we live in

 While I can understand that at times we may feel the need to dangle some carrots in front of little ones just to get them to lend a hand, overdoing it might lead to undesirable outcomes, such as training kids to only look for what is in it for them....we send the signal that volunteering is only worthy when there is a quid pro quo – which goes against the whole idea of volunteerism

pick up new skills along the way, such as communication, teamwork and leadership,

 “You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give”, seems to hold true.By giving a portion of our holiday time to meaningful volunteerism, we could be giving our children not only life skills, but also a glimpse into what makes a life lived well.

Qn: ‘People who undertake voluntary work do so more for their own benefit than for the benefit of others.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2023)