As parents, we want nothing more than to raise our children with good character. This includes having strong emotional and intellectual capacity, being kind and compassionate – and most importantly, being helpful.

While some might call it an innate sense to be helpful in any degree, the truth is that it is something you can definitely teach your little one. With enough consistency and smart-mindedness, your child can learn the art of helping others.

Here is how:

Set An Example

Your children will learn whatever you act on. That’s why the best way to teach helpfulness to your child is to be helpful yourself!

Whether it’s in the house helping your spouse organize their wardrobe, or it’s opening the door for someone in the grocery store – be of some kind of help wherever possible. Be of assistance to people around you, especially if you know your child is watching. Children love to imitate, so why not give them something wholesome to imitate?

Start With Baby Steps

Your child won’t immediately pick up on ways to help others – you have to start from scratch!

Start from an early age, and continue by giving age-appropriate tasks. In early toddler years, children can easily place a clean plate on the table, or dust table tops with you while you’re doing regular spring cleaning. Make sure the tasks you give them are simple to do and quick to complete, so that your child can feel accomplished while helping around.

Praise, praise, praise!

Children will readily repeat an action if they know they’re being appreciated for it. So reward your little one for being helpful by praising them – let them know that you appreciate them helping around.

The more sincere the praise, the better; that’s why you should avoid vague praises like “That’s great!” and switch to more specific ones, like “Thanks for cleaning the tabletop, I appreciate it!”. This helps attach a sense of fulfillment with the act of being considerate, which will help children be more willing to lend a helping hand.

Make it Fun

Your child won’t savor the feeling of being caring if the act itself is treated as a chore they’re forced to do. The best thing you can do is add a little bit of fun!

While your child is helping you do chores, play fun games like “name the color”, sing some fun songs, or even dance along! Add an element of fun to mainstream tasks, so that your child enjoys themselves. This helps them realise that helping out can be a great activity, and isn’t something they should be running away from!


Nurseries in Dubai Marina do wonders to teach children the benefits of being helpful. In fact, Oakfield Early Learning Centre takes it a step further by making it practical. Practitioners organize constructive group activities where students learn the true essence of being supportive of one another, so that the entire group can benefit. This helps children be naturally helpful in the long run, ultimately motivating them to contribute positively to society.