Community Service Ideas For Toddlers

I'm a mommy of a beautiful toddler (actually he's at that awkward stage between toddler and preschooler). My sweet baby is 3 years old, and his little life revolves around helping. He wants to help fold clothes, cook dinner, wash the dishes...anything I'm doing, he wants to help.

As a parent that makes me so proud because that means that I have taught him that helping others is good. Now my job is to continue to teach him what helping others is about and to continue to give him plenty of opportunities to help.

Have your toddler color pictures and then give them to others. Your toddler can have fun coloring and then the two of you can mail them to friends and family with a nice note, take them to a nursing home for the residents to enjoy, share them with an elderly neighbor...the ideas are endless for who you can give these coloring pages to.

Teach your toddler to recycle Your toddler can learn how to recycle by your example. Teach your toddler what the difference between trash and recyclables are. On pick up day your toddler can help you take out the recycling bin.

Visit nursing homes with your toddler. When I was a kid we visited a local nursing home on 1 Sunday a month to sing with our church. We also visited on Halloween to show off our costumes, and at Christmas for caroling. The residents really enjoyed the time we spent there. Your toddler can brighten the day of a nursing home resident by simply being themselves: cute and energetic. Elderly people seem to really enjoy the company of toddlers.

Have your toddler clean up the local park. Most of the time we have our children pick up any trash we see at the park when we visit. After playing we spend just a couple minutes cleaning up the playground, and that little bit of time leaves the park better for the next family that arrives. It only takes a minute to make a big difference.