Little Hands Help is the second book in our Small Voice series. It is intended for our little ones as they enter their pre-school and kindergarten years and continue into their early grade school years.

We soon learn that our young children want to imitate what we are doing. Initially they just want to be more included in family life - but soon that feeling of truly helping creates a new motivation. It can be as simple as letting them wash the carrots at the sink. But when those carrots show up at the dinner table, a powerful sense of accomplishment ensues.

Over time, these little investments in our kids add up. Even the littlest ones can pitch in - deepening the family bond. But beware, sometimes our time-deficient lives can get in the way of letting our children fully participate alongside us.

Here's the deal. Whether a child learns to be helpful as they grow older is mostly influenced by early family life. In other words, when helpfulness is valued and learned at an early age, it becomes part of the child's self-image (I am a helper, I can do this).

Of all the gifts we can bestow on our kids, few would compare to cultivating a natural tendency for helping others