A guilt that has been constantly eating me for a decade is that I hardly get to give priority to things beyond my children, my family, and my home. With the everyday routines, packed schedules, and multiple demands of the family, the days go by just like that. I am yet to reach that phase when the children are off to school and the husband is off to work to experience how life feels like being alone for a few hours. But underneath, there’s a calling that is trying to pull me to think beyond – for the people of the world!
Does this resonate with you too?
Let’s talk about lighting-up the days, if not lives, of someone who needs it.
L – Light-up: Show children to Light-up somebody’s day!
Post #12 of the series: Instilling Social Equality in Children
The popular forms of good deeds are making donations to charity-run organizations and donating our old clothes and stuff to people who are in need. Perhaps, that’s the most convenient one to make though there are many who do several other forms of deeds to their society around.
Alright, but where’s social equality for children in here?
There are families who do not apparently talk about equalities, inequalities, this and that. They simply smile at a super market employer. They strike a casual conversation with the lady who sweeps their roads. They ask their driver if his children are fine. They offer Diwali sweets to the security personnel.
They show children what it feels to care for people around irrespective of the job they do or the status they carry. It can be a minute step when compared to the king size inequalities around. But every little step to dissolve the differences is a giant leap toward social equality.
There is no one way to light-up someone’s life. Spontaneity, courtesy, and a little sense of responsibility is all that is enough.
Here’s the first 20 random acts that comes to my mind instantly:
- Celebrate a birthday of an under-served child, in their house.
- Appreciate a quality you find in another caste or religion to a person of that caste/religion.
- Introduce sick leave and casual leave in your house maid’s job, that is a paid leave without the obligation to wash the accumulated vessels the next day.
- Visit an online donation site like GiveIndia and ask your child to choose what cause or who they want to help.
- Run with your child for a cause.
- When you buy fruits for home, buy a kg extra. On the way home, give it to someone who lives on the streets.
- Encourage your children to teach alphabets and numbers to other children in your area who cannot afford schooling.
- Ask a waiter who comes to your table at the restaurant if they had their meal.
- Smile at someone who your clan would generally ‘look down’ upon.
- Enquire with a government school if they can allow you and your children to take alternative classes (e.g., leadership skills, public speaking) for their students.
- Show your children to look after little kids playing swing or slide at the children’s park.
- Spend some time with an aged person in the family or locality to chat about their bygone days.
- Along with your children, try to interact with a child who is different (e.g., on the spectrum, with a physical disability).
- Visit an orphanage with your children, but never to celebrate your child’s birthday.
- Take them to an old-age home.
- Teach them to keep their clothes and toys in good condition so that they can be passed on to the needy after use.
- Let them make a greeting card and write a few words in another language to present it to a neighbour or friend who speaks that language.
- Make them ask anyone in random in a day how they are feeling and listen to their reply.
- Ask them periodically an idea to light-up someone’s day.
- Encourage them to write about their ideas and later get them published in a children’s magazine or blog for other people to get inspired.
Do you have something to add? Write in the comments. I will update this page with your comments.