Zeena Assam, Founder and Managing Director of Dubai-based Creative Nest Nursery, highlights the importance of instilling social responsibility into children from a young age.
Do you want your children to grow up in a world that is kinder and peaceful? Do you want your children to be empathetic and caring? Then the best time to start is in the early years.
Children begin to understand the world around them from a very young age. Children learn about empathy, kindness, and the consequences of their actions during the early years.
One of Creative Nest Nursery’s goals is to nurture these traits in their children. The curriculum is integrated with social responsibility to make learning meaningful for children. Various activities are offered throughout the year to ensure it is embedded in the children’s learning from day one.
Over the last two years, we have run an initiative known as the Ramadan fridge. During the Holy month, children bring in food and drinks daily, and add to the collection through the snacks that are prepared and packed in our Mini Chefs Kitchen. The food is then stored in our giving fridge on a daily basis for those less fortunate.
Creative Nest Nursery has also held a shoebox collection where class members bring in toiletries for female workers in labour camps. The class that collected the most boxes was given the opportunity to visit the camp and meet with the workers themselves, to hand deliver the gifts.
We also offer gifts to children on the cancer ward at Dubai Hospital, which are donated by children and parents alike. These are then delivered to the ward by parents and staff members from Creative Nest Nursery.
But it’s important to remember that social responsibility also starts at home. You can help raise a generous child by talking about less fortunate children around the world, asking them to donate their old toys and clothes, or donating a dirham in the charity boxes around town.
Instilling this notion of giving and showing empathy to others is so vital in the social development of children, and is something that we are immensely passionate about here at Creative Nest Nursery.
For more information on Creative Nest Nursey, visit the website.