While it’s great to get involved, you also want to make sure you’re not overdoing it. If you push your children too hard, they could lose their willingness to join in. The best way to promote activity is to show your kids that you enjoy what you’re doing. “Enthusiasm draws,” says Dillon. If your children see that you’re excited about something, they’ll want to take part, too.

Make sure your children are enjoying the work, and not just doing it to please you. The idea is to create positive emotions and experiences about the idea of volunteering. And don't forget, children are sensitive. If the volunteer work requires working in an environment where they may be a good deal of human suffering, it may be hard for them to cope with this.

Take this into account when choosing your volunteer program. It might be a good idea to wait to work in more emotionally intense programs with them until they are older. Remember, if they remember the experience badly, they will be less likely to seek out volunteer work as an adult. Keep an eye out for a change in behavior, attitude or emotions like sadness or guilt from your child. If you start to see this it might be time to ease off the volunteer work for awhile.