Are these gifts a good idea?

littletyger

I've read all the posts about giving/not giving pens to children. I make little beaded zipper pulls (can clip onto to anything) and I was wondering if they might be nice things to give out to the occasional kid. They're just little trinkets that I enjoy making, but they're kinda neat looking and personal. Good idea or no?

PeakXV

They're very creative & cute - a sure hit for the kids!

2 up!

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

gregornot

Namaste,
Just remember to take a lot of them, the kids come out of nowhere for freebies. Thanks of thinking of others.
peace, gregor

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julesa

those are really nice and that's very generous of you.

i'm in two minds about giving gifts to kids. on the one hand, who am i to tell anyone not to? but on the other, it just encourages them.

a lot of people who i gave a few rupees to just instantly turned and walked off without saying a word.

PeakXV

That happens everywhere - got asked a few weeks ago in Toronto for change by some street kids ..... only had a couple of quarters --- gave it to them - they said nothing - guess they were expecting at least a couple of silver dollars. .... I think Indians are very grateful when receiving gifts as a rule.

julesa

i think the ones who treat it as a profession are often less grateful, altho that's just a theory of mine!

littletyger

When I lived in Chicago I couldn't walk to the store without being asked for money by at least five able-bodied people. I became very jaded. But giving a suprise gift to an unsuspecting kid is different.

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alpengirl01

they're absolutely adorable!!!! very nice idea - the kids will love them!

heidi

http://yatrikheidi.blogspot.com

Noodle

Very very beautiful! I love them - and so will the kids, I'm sure!

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amyl

Can I have the middle one. I really liked it.

They are nice and certainly the kids will love it.

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Nick-H

They'll go down very well, and if you can make earrings like that I think some of the older girls would be very happy

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mercedes10

Yes, another thumbs up from me! These are great and the kids will absolutely love them! I worked with kids in the slums last year and they'd have gone nuts for something like this. It beats handing out money I think (which only encourages begging). As someone else said though make sure you have enough of them! There's nothing worse than giving to a few kids and the others miss out. I made the mistake of handing a few spare pairs of sunglasses to the slum kids - in hindsight it looked like I was favouring a few of the kids over the others. They really didn't have any concept of sharing - and it just caused fights and upset. I wish I hadn't bothered :-( The kids loved them, but it was unfair that I didn't have something for everyone.

matt67

I usually take a bag load of used/semi broken toys with me. On an ocassional train journey the street urchins/shoe shiners will come looking for money. After getting my shoe shined i give the lad his money and add a toy car as tip. His face lighting up is a joy. Also get my boys to give these toys to kids who are not asking for anything but just sat in street corners or near railway stations.