I think it's important, although we also don't have one right now. It's good to have because there's a special importance to giving tzedaka every day. And for chinuch, because kids don't see the bigger stuff (like donations through hora'ot keva).
Once my kids are old enough to understand, I'll want them to put money in the pushka and not just give to strangers, because I want to stress the importance of being responsible with maaser/tzedaka and making an effort to ensure that it gets to people who truly need it.
In general I think it's a mitzva that can only be really taught at a later age, when kids are old enough to understand. Maybe once they are school age. Then they can get concepts like "people need money to buy food," "some people can't afford food," and "if you give put money here, it will go to those people." As young kids, even if they give money directly to a person that doesn't usually mean much, they don't understand why this person needs the money (or why anyone needs money), why they don't have money, etc. Once they get to the point where they can understand the concept of giving tzedaka to someone who comes to the door, so they can also understand putting coins in a pushka. IMO.
Once my kids are old enough to understand, I'll want them to put money in the pushka and not just give to strangers, because I want to stress the importance of being responsible with maaser/tzedaka and making an effort to ensure that it gets to people who truly need it.
In general I think it's a mitzva that can only be really taught at a later age, when kids are old enough to understand. Maybe once they are school age. Then they can get concepts like "people need money to buy food," "some people can't afford food," and "if you give put money here, it will go to those people." As young kids, even if they give money directly to a person that doesn't usually mean much, they don't understand why this person needs the money (or why anyone needs money), why they don't have money, etc. Once they get to the point where they can understand the concept of giving tzedaka to someone who comes to the door, so they can also understand putting coins in a pushka. IMO.
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