How do you talk to your children about children living across the world? Share your tips with the new Save the Children Club - chance to win £100 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

Save the Children has recently launched a new Club for children that gives 7-11 year old children from the UK the chance to explore the everyday life of a child on the other side of the world without leaving their living room!

To help promote this they'd love to hear your tips on encouraging your children to think about children and their lives across the world.

How aware are your children of the situation some children find themselves in, and what prompts conversations about this?

The team at Save the Children Club say "the Club allows children to have a space to celebrate things in their lives that are the same, whilst starting to understand what makes their lives different, from children in other parts of the world".

"After a parent or guardian signs up to the Club, their child will receive a welcome pack that includes a massive world map, an official Club badge and lots of stickers. They'll then receive three Club packs throughout the year bursting with educational activities, great games and fun facts, focusing on a girl or boy from a different country".

"As a Club member, children will also get access to the exclusive Save the Children Club website, where new activities are added every month. Highlights might include activities such as playing a child’s favourite game, learning a few words from their language, making a model of their house, reading their favourite story and cooking a local dish".

To join, parents or guardians simply sign up for a monthly donation of £7.50. Donations will directly support Save the Children's work around the world – meaning other children get the chance of a better future.

Please share on this thread your comments about the Club or about raising awareness of the issues faced by children in many other countries – everyone who does so will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 Book Token.

Thanks and good luck

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Meh--I just tried to sign up, but it won't let me because I live in Japan so my post code is not valid :(

Sponsoring a boy of the same age is Uganda and receiving photos and letters from him has helped in understanding that not everyone is as privileged as those of us lucky enough to live in the developed world .

We get involved in charity events and also talk about a lot of it as their daddy comes from africa and we've seen a lot at first hand and feel they should realise how lucky they are

My daughter(4) and I were watching a documentary about a group of people who had gone to a remote village to see if they could survive on the minimum , like those in the village were doing. She had lots of questions about why the children weren't at school, why they didn't have bathrooms or heating and why the cooked on open fires. I tried to answer all of them as best I could saying that these things cost alot of money and the families couldn't always afford to have those luxuries when given the choice of going to school or eating. She's quite empathetic and asked if we could help the people in the village. We talked about how charities help less fortunate families get education or valuable skills to help them provide for themselves.

i sponsor a child so we look at his photos and talk about that and they send him messages etc if they want to.
they also know that I give money regularly to Oxfam and Unicef and why and my DS1 (16) also contributes some of his pocket money to Oxfam (he asked to do this when a cold caller came to the door, I did not suggest it).
we have always had lots of photos up of people round the world (from travels when I was younger!) and I buy Oxfam or traidcraft calendars with photos of children in different countries - they see those and we talk about them.
we have been abroad (China, Morocco, Europe, Tunisia) with some or all of the children and they have met families in these countries and/or we have discussed living conditions, houses etc.
we have lots of books (right from toddler level) at home and from the library about children's lives in different countries - stories and fact books.
we sometimes donate to food banks and I discuss why with the children and they choose what we put in from the supermarket shops.
my two younger children DS2 (10) and DD (7) watch Newsround, which features stories about children in different places.
they learn about other cultures at school e.g. international food days celebrating cooking from around the world. we visit lots of restaurants from different cultures e.g. chinese, indian, Turkish, Greek so that they can try different foods.
i do not shield them from tv programmes or news articles about people in other places or in the UK who have had different experiences to them. They sometimes watch these things with me (e.g. programmes about refugees) and we talk about them.
I have always tried in as many ways as I can to let the children know how lucky they are to have the life that they do and that not all children (both in this country and in other countries) have as many opportunities.
i like the idea of the Save The Children packs.

We watch the News together, and I try and explain in child friendly terms why there are children around the world fleeing from war, why some governments and individuals etc are less than welcoming.
We have always travelled, and dd has done several summer schools with children from all over the world, so I like to think that for her, we are all people rather than different nationalities/races/religions etc.

We discuss things as they come up. Sometimes issues are brought up at school, such as water use and war and we then discuss how children cope in different circumstances. Or charity adverts are good for bringing it up. We have currently been discussing Christmas and how lucky my DC aremin relation to a lot of other children in other countries and in ours.

I get the idea of the Club - educate your children whilst also donating.

However, I talk to my kids all the time about how their life is different from most children in this world, and they have a lot to be grateful for!

I have real life experiences to relate to them, plus they have family that live in other countries that can do the same.

I wouldn't want to sign up just to get info which is available (via other means) already, and my kids (10-14) are too old/busy to want to do the sorts of activities described.

It would be a non starter in my house. Would be more likely to dinate to a specific project in a specfic place than an ongoing monthly amount.

Previously, my daughters school has encouraged to do a shoebox to send to other children across the world at Christmas, which we have done. Also, from other campaigns publicised, my daughter has learnt about other children, such as Comic Relief etc.

The club is an interesting way of getting our children involved whilst still donating.

I am really mindful of how lucky my two are. They are pretty tiny to understand much at the moment but I'd like to teach them to understand that more as they grow- I have already tried to pass things on to charities for less fortunate children. But I do wonder about how to teach them in a practical sense that they understand. I like the idea that some people have of giving away some Christmas or birthday presents and for the child to help choose that.

We watch newsround and channel 4 news. My daughter often asks about things she sees and im very open about how differently people often live.

Ecouraging my teen to do voluntary work -we are planning to do a day's work together this Christmas holidays- has helped her to see other's lives differently.

I like the idea of the children's club.

I sponsor a little boy living in poverty in Colombia and get sent a photo of him each year. The DC like to look at the photos and we research life in Colombia on the Internet.

I don't want my DC to take the standard of living they get in the UK for granted or be blind to the different lifestyles of others.

My DD is only 3 so a little young and not in the targeted age range but I think this is a nice idea.

We've already told her anout differences in culture and lifestyle and she met a class of school children in Africa (unplanned, we were walking past and they came out). We are very fortunate to be able to travel (may stop / scale back with DC2 on the way!!) and I hope to make them aware of different cultures through first hand experience. I want to avoid always talking about poverty and children less well off as although DD is very lucky to have been born in the UK to a comfortably well off family (although not well off by any means, but we are lucky not to live hand to mouth), I don't want her to think that just because some cultures live differently to us, that they are unhappy or its negative. I've been around relatively poor communities where the children have a happy childhood and all their basic needs well met, along with an education. It's just different and I don't want her to think that's bad.

We have talked about different families in the UK (races, religions and organisations), and that has triggered lots of questions about different countries.
If I'm asked a question about somewhere or something, we find the answer out together.
Since we have recently moved to the Middle East, that has triggered lots of questions, from Women dressing modestly, calls to prayers, and how different places have a different feel. Think that will increase as they enter school, which is going to be a very diverse mix of kids.
So, just talking about things, different countries, and different ways of doing things, but in possitive way, not all bad, and making sure they know that there are people who struggle in ALL countries, including the UK.

Our school are twinned up with a school in Malawi so they do lots of fund raising and collect items that are needed to send to them. This has often opened a discussion about children who are less well off than they are and they are well aware of how lucky they are.

I allow my eldest to watch the news with us, at times it may seem scary but it has allowed us to have discussions around what is happening around the world. My eldest is able to see whats going on and ask any questions around what is happening, this has helped a lot when discussing Malala and the fact that there are alot of girls in the world who dont have access or are even allowed an education.

Whenever my kids mouth off that it 'isn't fair' I explain that there are far more children in the world living in horrendous conditions than there are children as lucky as them. I then go on to say that if we were to make things fair then it's likely their standard of living would go down considerably in order to bring them in line with the majority and would they actually therefore like it if life was more 'fair'. We've had quite a few lively discussions with that opener.

If there is something in the news my daughter often asks questions and we then talk about children on other countries and how fortunate we are. My dd is a very kind child and often wants to send her toys to those less fortunate than her. I think it is important for her to recognise how lucky she is and how different the world can be.

I put the news on at breakfast time and I explain in a way she understands. I have done this since she was 5 she is now nearly eight and would love to help others.

I have an uncle who worked for the foreign office overseas and would bring back items from Africa and Asia often made by children. He has interesting views on workers overseas. He would tell us (the family) lots of stories about life in various countries, different cultures and religions etc. I've never shielded my daughter from news reports and she's naturally asked questions which I always answer honestly and if I don't know the answer I'll research and let her know in a way she understands. She knows she's lucky to live in a country where she can go to School and get healthcare that's free at the point of use. To live in a warm home with running water and plumbing. Mostly as she's now 14 she's aware how lucky she is to live in a country where she's relatively free to say what she thinks.

But we've also talked about living in Europe which I did until she was a young baby, we also have several friends who live in Europe and she's been interested to visit and see how their lives and culture and language differ (and are sometimes the same) as ours.

We talk about similarities in even the poorer countries too eg still celebrating rites of passage like birthdays but perhaps in different ways.

We watch a Cbeebies program called Little Big Planet (I think) and also the area we live in East London is very multi-cultural so DS asks questions about his friends countries/language etc.

I was born in Africa, dd is fascinated by the continent and we always avidly watch documentaries, and as she has got older she's become more aware of how lucky she is to have the basics like water, food and shelter. We are approaching the teenage years, though, and I think it's important to point out that not having the 'latest' mobile phone is a problem many children would be glad to have... without sounding preachy!

This is a really lovely idea, unless children watch programmes they Newsround they can become quite isolated from the rest of the world. I will chat to them, they are 5 and 7, about different countries and cultures as the topics arise in conversation and I know they are taught a bit at school. They are still quite young, and it is probably only our eldest who is starting to have an understanding that people live in different places with different cultures.

I make sure that all explanations to DS start with the phrase:

"We may do things differently but that doesn't mean that either of us is wrong"

And I say that because I'm very tired of hearing so many ignorant parents, teachers and even charity teams talking about other cultures in a very condescending way, that seems to imply that we are more clever than them.

We are not, we are all just making our best with the resources we have on hand and within the demands posed by our own cultures.