More and more parents around the nation are completing volunteer work with their children at their side, according to a Seattle Times article. As these energetic youth get to help their parents help others, they may be preparing themselves for a life of volunteer work.

Of the many reasons for the increase in family volunteering, one reason may stand out. Adults who spend much of their time at work, like to spent the time they have left volunteering. It's something they want to share with their children.

Dianne Kuhn, director of volunteer programs for the United Way of King County says she thinks this is a growing trend. They want to pass on family values, Kuhn told the Seattle Times.

Benefits of this trend are strengthened family relationships and a healthier community, says Virginia Austin, executive director of Family Matters, an initiative founded by the Washington, D.C.-based Points of Light Foundation to prompt families to volunteer together.

A few drawbacks to this new volunteering trend include the lack of year-round family volunteering opportunities, the article reports. A few organizations have set up a database to link volunteer opportunities with families. The United Way has plans to include such a database on its Web site, the newspaper reports.

Kuhn says that about 51 percent of young people volunteer, and even more are being encouraged by their schools to do such work. Those that do volunteer also want to do so with their families.

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