Guest Blogger Pam Heilman: Since my family started sponsoring a child in Africa, my kids have begun to realize how good they've got it.

"Clean your plate...there are starving children in the world!" is a tired tirade that parents have used since the dawn of family dinners. We changed that when we adopted two children from World Vision. Now starving children have names and know our names and we exchange letters.

Our little girl from Ghana, Belenge, writes through an interpreter because she cannot read and write even though she is 9. She calls my children her brothers and sisters and shares the earnest truth about her life in a country that is plagued by famine and disease. "I have a nice house with a tin roof and a dirt floor." The effect on my children has been profound. My four-year-old will often ask if we can send things to Belenge, and will ask what Belenge will have for dinner or breakfast. She's been more inclined to eat what she is given, because she now knows someone who has never tasted PB&J or even an apple.

My older kids now think before they complain about what they don't have. When my son was denied a video game that he was desperate for, he could put it in perspective because Marcos, our boy from Brazil, doesn't even have electricity. I'm not saying it's a panacea for spoiled, unappreciative children, but if you can't get your children to a third-world orphanage for a little perspective, sponsoring a child can be an effective way to teach them about compassion, social responsibility, and gratefulness.