Simple Ways Families with Young Children Can Give Back
By Dana Stewart, Director of Education, Sparkler Learning
Before I became a parent, I would spend Martin Luther King Jr. Day volunteering at my local library, park, or food pantry. As a school leader, I would organize coat and diaper drives to encourage the families at my center to support others in their community. Like many, I believe that one of the best ways to honor Dr. King’s legacy is by finding ways that we can be of service to others.
Now, as a mom to a 1-year-old and a 5-year-old, I’ll be honest, sometimes the idea of “giving back” can feel overwhelming. Raising young children is a fulltime job. My days are full and my energy is limited. Even leaving the house can feel like a major undertaking. It’s understandable that many parents think that community service is something we’ll get to later, when our kids are older.
But what I’ve learned, both professionally and personally, is that caring for a community doesn’t have to be separate from caring for our children. In fact, some of the most powerful lessons about empathy, justice, and belonging are learned as we go about our daily life together.
Service Can be Small — and Still Matter
I still love volunteering, but between laundry and naps, I am not in a season where I can spend hours on a service project. These days, our acts of service are small moments that can fit into our hectic life: bringing in a neighbor’s trash cans, baking muffins to share with friends, or making a card to brighten someone’s day. These moments may seem small, but they are how children begin to learn: I belong here. Other people matter. We help each other.
Dr. King believed that acts of love and dedication are what build strong, just communities. Those acts don’t require perfection or grand gestures. They require intention.
Simple Ways to Give Back — With Young Children
Here are a few realistic, age-appropriate ways families can practice service together:
- Care for your immediate community. Young children learn best through what they can see and touch. Watering a shared garden, shoveling a neighbor’s walkway, or picking up trash at a local park are tangible ways to show care for shared spaces.
- Practice kindness out loud. Explain the reason behind your acts of kindness: “We’re bringing soup because our neighbor isn’t feeling well,” or “We’re donating these toys so another child can enjoy them.” Naming the why helps children connect actions to values.
- Share what you have. When you pack your unused household items to donate, invite your child to choose a few of their own gently used books or clothes to donate. Your child may struggle with this sometimes — and that’s okay. It can help to make giving less abstract. For example, “I wonder if your friend would be happy to have these ballet slippers that you’ve outgrown.” or “Choose five books that you’re not interested in to leave in the free library, and we can look for new book for you.” Those conversations about fairness, gratitude, and generosity are part of the learning.
- Include children in everyday helping. Service doesn’t have to be formal volunteering. Preparing sandwiches for the food pantry, writing a thank-you note to a teacher, or checking in on a friend are all ways of showing up for others.
- Give and receive. Being a part of a community means giving AND receiving. When my daughter receives trinkets from a friend or watches me receive baby clothes from a neighbor, she learns first-hand how it feels to receive help from others, which encourages her to share more.
Why This Matters, Especially Now
At Sparkler, we believe that children are capable of understanding big ideas when they’re introduced with warmth and respect. Service builds more than empathy, it builds confidence, communication skills, and a sense of purpose. When children experience themselves as helpers, they begin to see that their actions matter. They can be a hero to someone else!
And for parents and caregivers, practicing service together can be grounding. It reminds us that even in seasons of exhaustion, we are connected to something larger than ourselves.
On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I’m not aiming for grand gestures. I’m aiming for presence, connection, and small moments of service. We will talk about fairness at the dinner table; we will squeeze a small act of kindness between naps and bedtime routines.
On Feb. 4, 1968, Dr. King said, “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve…You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” His words remind us that greatness does not require people to achieve prerequisites or achieve at a high level or large scale — it’s about service. And when we invite our youngest children into that work, we’re not just honoring his legacy, we’re helping to build the compassionate communities he envisioned, one small act at a time.
