Thursday, March 05, 2009

The Art of Giving and Asking

Each family has a heritage of how we give to others and how we ask for what we need.

Below is the last series of questions to help you and your daughter talk about the art of giving and asking. It was inspired by Rich Snowden of California, a life coach and Daughters.com fan.

You and your daughter should write down your answers to these questions on separate pieces of paper. Then, share you answers with each other and then ask (don’t preach) and talk to learn more.

When asking for help, did you ever feel obligated to give up something important to you—even if the other person didn’t explicitly ask you to? Describe what you did and how it felt.

How has your giving and asking for help changed or developed over time? Why has it changed?

Do you give mostly with your head or your heart? Or both?

How do you make your decisions about giving and asking for help? Do you plan ahead?


Do you give or ask for help in the moment when something inspires you? Both?

Use the comment section below to share some of the insights you’ve gained about your daughter—and yourself—by pondering the art of giving and asking--and consider giving a gift of New Moon Girls to a girl you care about!

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is something that happened in 2006, August, when my daughter Nerika was just two years and two months old.
It was around 9 PM. We (my husband, daughter and I) were tired after visiting relatives in South Mumbai while we live in the suburbs....a long journey back. She had been showered with gifts in the day - a box of chocolates and a lovely collection of miniature sized rubber animals. We stopped at a petrol pump to move on. We spotted a little girl, in rags, just learning to walk, playing around the place. A man and a boy were also seen with her. My daughter curiously asked about the girl...i tried to explain to her how poor she was and that she had no roof over her head, and definitely no toys and chocolates.
My angel gazed at the girl and said - Can I give her these things. I was shocked. I had tears in my eyes and was speechless. Swelling with pride, I wanted to make sure she realised and was sure of what she was doing. These are your new toys and you love chocolates, you will not get these back, is it okay? She was sure it was okay. I held her hand as she walked down to the family and handed over the stuff to the little girl. The kid did not know what was happening while her dad, the only adult around was too shocked to say anything. My daughter wanted to gift your child something, I said. The smile on that child's face brought a smile on our lips too. And that day my daughter who had not seen much or should I say any of the world taught me the art of giving happily.