Let’s get the business side out of the way first, and then I’ll tell you the story of trying to teach a three year old what charity is. As part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias® we recently had the opportunity to teach Duchess a little about charity and giving. If you know me, or read this blog regularly, you know that charity is something I care a lot about. So when I saw that I had the opportunity to participate in the Spin Into Action SIMPLE Service project with Champions for Kids and Spinbrush, I jumped at the chance.

The objective: Teach Duchess about giving.

The mission: Gather donations and toys, and give them to our local childrens hospital.

The reality: It is really hard to teach a three year old about giving. 

It seemed simple enough. Stevie would take Duchess to Walmart, let her buy a bunch of toys, and an Arm and Hammer Spinbrush Toothbrush. Then we would convince Duchess to give away all of the toys she just picked out to kids who she had never met before for reasons that were completely foreign to her. In return, she would learn an important lesson about giving AND get a nifty new toothbrush that spins when you push a button on the front of it. What could go wrong?

Let’s start with the trip to Walmart. We explained very clearly to her that she was picking out toys for her new friends and that she wouldn’t be able to keep them. For some reason we thought she would just nod her head and accept this statement on its own merit… because toddlers hate questions. Right?

“Who are my new friends?”

“Can I play with them?”

“Can they just borrow the toys?”

“Can they have the toothbrush and I will keep the Princess Puzzle?”

“Why? Why why why why? Why why why why why why? Why why?”

And so went our trip to Walmart. By the time we got home she was resigned to the fact that her new friends got to have the toys, but she didn’t really comprehend why. I explained to her that sometimes kids get really sick and they need to go visit the doctor.

“Like Doc Mcstuffins?” 

“Yes. Like Doc Mcstuffins.”

“They need a check up?”

“Yes. Sometimes they need more than a check up. Sometimes they need to stay and sleep at the doctors. There’s no toys at the doctor, so that is why we are going to bring them some.”

“Ohhhh, So we are taking the toys to the doctors house?”

“Yes. The doctors house.”

“Can I have a snack?”

She has a short attention span. Anyway…

We had this big plan to take Duchess with us to the children’s hospital and let her hand out the toys. I don’t know how I got in my head that this would be remotely possible. It’s a hospital, with privacy, and HIPPA regulations, and sick people. Bottom line, I learned you can’t just walk into a hospital like you’re Santa Clause and start throwing toys at sick kids. Instead, you drop them off at the front desk and fill out a form. We decided to forgo bringing duchess to the front desk form signing. 

So in the end, Duchess’s first charitable act wasn’t as photo worthy as I had hoped it would be, but I guess that’s probably a good thing. It wasn’t about the photo op. It was about the act of giving something away. And Duchess did that. She even asked me if her “new friends” played with the princess puzzle at the doctor’s house. When I said yes she replied “When they’re done, do you think they’ll let me borrow it?”

Nope, Duchess. Not this time. 

Thanks for putting up with my paid posts guys. I promise to try and keep them funny and special. It sure is helping with daycare!

Love, Dad (John)

P.S. Duchess picked out the Spider Man Toothbrush. Here is her word for word review of it. 

“IT SPINS DADDY! IT SPINS! LOOK! PUSH THE BUTTON! YOU PUSH IT NOW DADDY! LET’S GO BRUSH OUR TEETH WITH PIDER MAN!” 

If you’d like to learn more, I put a widget in the side bar for you! Also, I have more photos of our whole shopping experience on Google+. Check them out here!