Do any of you know of a link between parents who volunteer having kids that volunteer?

Question

I'm interested in studying the link between parents who are volunteers and their kids in terms of service. Do they volunteer more often than kids who have parents that don't volunteer?

Any thoughts on this idea or how to discover if there's been previous research?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I can only give you my person opinion. My grandmother volunteered, my mom volunteered, and I do....and my daughter is getting to that point.

I think you are brought up with the conviction of helping others in need. Now much of my volunteer work has been with animal shelters, but I do volunteer with homeless shelters as well....

Answer 2

i don't know any statistics on this issue...but of course kids learn the most from their parents and in general, a lot of kids grow up to have similar personality traits as their parents. that would be a really interesting thing to research. i think you should if you can. i can tell you from my own experience that i'd say yes, there is absolutely a link. i sometimes carry bags of crackers, sandwiches, things like that in my car if i have to go into the city. there's always a few homeless people at this one stoplight i have to pass, and i like to give them something to eat. i go and take my 4 year old with me to donate our old clothes and baby stuff at a home for teenage mothers or to the children's shelter. well, one day the news in new orleans (where we lived at the time) ran a story about a little boy who was found wandering around a neighborhood and was picked up by a cabdriver and brought to a police station. it had been several hours and no parents called to claim the kid. he was about 3 years old or so. the station showed the kid, and he was walking around in an adult's tee shirt and socks. it was january!!! freezing outside. my little boy was so upset. he asked if we could bring him all his clothes and toys! i was touched. so we packed up a bag full of his smaller stuff and brought it to the police station for the boy. we stopped at mcdonalds and got the little boy a happy meal too. it made me cry. the kid ended up in foster care..but my little boy learned how good it feels to help others in need, and i'd like to think that he learned by example.