"I want to help the Armed Forces," is what parents hear from their children more and more often. How to help a child understand what exactly he can do with his abilities, talents and capabilities? Where to look for fundraising ideas? How to help achieve success? How to tactfully explain the possible difficulties and disappointments if the child does not manage to collect hundreds of thousands of hryvnias - as it is shown on TV?

Family psychologist Olena Lytvyn helped us to answer the questions that concern parents. And "Rubrika" has collected various examples of children's help - starting points from which you can start discussing possible options for help with your child, or just get inspired.

The best motivation is your own example. Children should be involved in helping through community, through a sense of involvement in a common cause. For example, you can offer to go together to weave nets for the Armed Forces or bake cookies for our soldiers. Children always play what they see in adults. If they see that adults help, make their contribution to the Victory, then most likely, they themselves will try to join this great goal.

Every child can do something for the army that he knows or wants. Someone can expertly play chess, sing or dance, others will be delighted to play "blockpost", do crafts or draw postcards with the subjects they like. The main thing in generating ideas is not the amount of money earned, Olena Lytvyn reminds. After all, we all perfectly understand that the contribution of children, with some exceptions, is more emotional and symbolic. Such a contribution is emotional and symbolic for both parties — both for the child who makes such a contribution and for the soldiers, who, for example, will receive a picture that will once again remind them of who and what they stand for, and how they are waiting for their victory children

Difficulties and frustrations can only arise if there is competition or help is more work than play. We have already found out that helping the Armed Forces is not the work and duty of children. That is the work and duty of their parents. For a child, it is primarily a game that should be associated with positive experiences and emotions. The task of parents is to be there and ensure safety. If children unite and collect funds together, then it is very desirable that they collect them in a common container, so that a situation of competition between them does not arise, they say, who earned how much money and who is more well done.

Eight-year-old Saveliy, who moved from Buchi to Lutsk, has been playing chess for four years. To help the Ukrainian military, he plays chess for money with passers-by on the central street of Lutsk. The boy's mother and grandfather support him in this kind of volunteering. There is no fixed amount for the game - people leave as much as they can.

Little Solomiyka from Dnipro plays the flute in the streets of the city. Solomiyka's mother says that the girl has already collected 118,000 hryvnias. With these funds, two bulletproof vests were purchased, and the purchase of a night vision device is also planned. The young volunteer directs the collected funds to the "Return Alive" fund.

Ten year old Valeria Karnauch knits and sells patriotic keychains every day. The girl is from Velika Oleksandrivka, Kherson region. He now lives in Kryvyi Rih together with his family under evacuation. Her mother says: her daughter became interested in volunteering as soon as the school year ended. "She started asking me who the volunteers are, who appoints them or how they are chosen. I told her who they are and how they are. And she asks: "Can only adults be volunteers, or children too?" I tell her: "Anyone can be a volunteer," says the woman. The price of Valeria's products is symbolic — 30-50 hryvnias. With her hobby, she has already managed to collect about two and a half thousand hryvnias. She has already given two thousand to volunteers to purchase knee pads for the Ukrainian military.