A good intention that turned and bit me in the leg...
My sincere efforts to make my son more altruistic were probably a bit misguided and a wee bit premature. No matter how dismal a picture I paint of the plight of the poor kids with whom we need to share, I fail to evoke even the slightest sympathy. Out comes the atavistic instinct of self preservation and the pure emotion of avarice. Once or twice, I had to face a tantrum when I gave away a packet of chips or biscuits that had been lying in the car for months...

Maybe my approach was wrong... How I went about it was that whenever he clamoured for a toy, I would tell him that he could get it only if he gave away two of his old toys to poor chidren. Now, when he sees a poor kid, he feels that the kid is out to get his stuff - so he is rude to poor people :( Maybe I introduced the concept too soon. I should've perhaps started the idea of sharing at home. Charity, as they say, begins at home etc etc.
So, let's go easy on the philanthropy for the moment and let him blossom with all his primal instincts in place, shall we?