Open the app

Giving, service and civic life

How you teach giving and community involvement: not structured, a give jar and donation choices, regular family volunteering, or expected service in the teens.

How do we raise a child who gives and volunteers?

In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Not structured; Give jar and donation choices; Regular family volunteering; Expected service in the teens. Evidence: evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. Best settled: school age.

Evidence
Evidence leans one way
Best settled
School age
Part of
The family system

Giving, service and civic life: what are the options?

Parents usually land on one of these 4 approaches.

  1. 1. Not structured

    You have no set practice.

  2. 2. Give jar and donation choices

    The child sets aside money and helps choose where it goes.

  3. 3. Regular family volunteering

    The family volunteers together on a regular basis.

  4. 4. Expected service in the teens

    The teen is expected to do community service.

Giving, service and civic life: what does the evidence say?

Evidence leans one way. Research or guidance points in a direction, but it's thin, small or correlational. (Leans (quality matters))

A meta-analysis of 49 studies with 24,477 participants aged 12-20 found community service had positive effects on academic, personal, social and civic outcomes, with the gains depending on the quality of the experience (a fit with the young person's interests, support, and time to reflect) rather than participation alone. Evidence on required service is mixed, with some reports that benefits such as later volunteering and well-being accrue mainly when service is voluntary. Harvard's Making Caring Common advises telling children that caring for others is a top priority

Sources

What else is worth knowing?

Some families build giving and volunteering into regular life. Others leave it to arise naturally. Children are more likely to give when they see their parents do it.

Questions to ask each other

  • What did we do for others as children?
  • What causes matter to us?
  • How do we involve our child without forcing it?

More in Values, character and family culture

First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.