Why Christmas Is the Perfect Time to Teach Your Kids About Contentment

The holidays are supposed to be about spending time with family and loved ones, but it can often turn into an expensive and materialistic occasion. Thankfully, our friends at The Federalist have pointed out why Christmas is the perfect time to teach your kids about contentment.

When I was a child, during the first few days back at school after Christmas vacation, the popular topic of conversation between friends was which presents everyone received. Did you get the hottest toy? How many presents did you have to unwrap? Did that cool relative spring for the thing you had really, really wanted and barely hoped to get? The same holds true today, perhaps more so. With more of our kids on social media, comparing not just with their local friends but with strangers countries away, the issue only seems to be growing. Your family went skiing for Christmas? So what? Someone else on Instagram got to cruise the Caribbean and opened 50 gifts, including all the new Apple products.

While we parents may be busy "keeping up with the Joneses," comparison is not a problem reserved for adults, nor will it go away anytime soon. Lest you despair, though, parents of modern kids, this isn't the end of the world. Inequity doesn't become less frequent in adulthood and helping our children work through it with our guidance is ideal.

It is good for children to learn well and early that life is not fair, which helps them grow into contented adults. Learning how to handle watching a best friend get a yearned-for present paves the way for coping as an adult when someone receives that much-needed and highly sought-after promotion. Daily injustices and irritations are not something to shelter our kids from, as tempting as that may be. Our kids need to deal with these small hurts and unfairness while parents can help, rather than once they are out on their own. It is simply good parenting.

Head over to The Federalist to read the full article!