Thanksgiving traditions

Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already here! Families have many traditions they honor during the holiday season. For Thanksgiving many families have a tradition of having everyone at the table state what they are grateful for this past year. Some offer up a prayer of thanksgiving. Still others decide to give back to those less fortunate.

This year at Pediatric Health we are celebrating our 25^th year in DuPage County. Thanks to all of our families who continue to entrust their children to receive our medical care. We also want to thank our staff�from doctors, to nurses, to our front staff and their managers. You have helped make our practice successful. God has provided so many blessings to us through all of you. We are deeply grateful for your confidence in our practice

Thanksgiving presents a unique teaching opportunity. While being grateful for something, it is a good time for them to also learn sacrifice and giving. Some of the most important life lessons we learned in our own childhood were during times of sacrifice, compassion or lending a hand. Those lessons helped shape us into the people we are today.

Here are some ideas on how you can help your child learn some of those life lessons:

     

      1)       Have a time of giving thanks with your kids�ask them what has God provided for them, who in the

              family do they want to thank? How can they thank relatives they can�t be with this Thanksgiving?

2)       Start a toy drive at school for the children who have lost everything in Hurricane Sandy.

3)      That new outfit your teen is hoping for�perhaps they could do without and donate the money to the 

       Red Cross or World Vision.

4)      Put a neighborhood food drive together and have your children deliver it to Loaves and Fishes.

5)      Have your kids go through their toys and closet to donate items to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

6)      Consider everyone in the family contributing a portion of their allowance/income to purchase a flock of chickens for $20! This is an especially great opportunity to talk about how this gift will provide nutrition every single day for a hungry child!

7)      Buy $10 gift cards to a grocery store for a family you may know is struggling to pay the bills.

8)      Donate to �Toys for Tots�

9)      Help kids right here in our community by supporting the CareLink Foundation!

Children learn from example. Make �giving� a family affair. Life�s lessons can be hard but can also be extremely rewarding!

We have listed websites for several agencies you may want to consider this year:

www.heifer.org/

www.redcross.org/Hurricane_Aid

www.fmsc.org/

 

www.salvationarmyusa.org/

www.waysidecross.org

www.goodwill.org/

www.loaves-fishes.org/

www.books4cause.com/Donate-Books

www.solvehungertoday.org/

www.toysfortots.org/

www.carelinkfoundation.org