Children who lend a helping hand show they can make a difference and change the world

Parents want their kids and teens to care about others – whether at school, in their community, or in need a continent away.

The good news is that children "are sort of hard-wired" to want to help others, says Michael Ungar, author of "The We Generation: Raising Socially Responsible Kids." "They want to take on responsibility."

While adults do wonderful things to help others, even more amazing is the number of children and teens who are "making a difference," too.

"Childhood projects are a great time to sort of step back and let the child develop those skills, from time management to seeing the impact on others if they don't fulfill their obligations," says Dr. Ungar, a family counselor and professor of social work at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The bottom line: Support, but don't shove. "Our kids are really watching us," he says. "If we're showing empathy to others, if we're cooking a casserole for a neighbor who's fallen down and broken her hip, if we're doing those small things in our community," kids will notice, he says.

Below, we highlight five outstanding young differencemakers – children and teens who have turned their care for others into impressive actions.

They show that there's no age barrier to becoming a force for good.

Wyatt: Making clay wiggle to save the oceans

Wyatt Workman was conducting his phone interview from a closet in his house.

It apparently was the 7-year-old's private office, a place to speak with an inquiring reporter in some confidentiality.

The second-grader from Glendale, Calif., is a budding environmentalist, clay sculptor, book author, blogger, and auteur. His colorful, six-minute clay-animation movie ("Save the Sea from the Trash Monster!") is attracting hits on YouTube and at his website, wyattsworks.com.

Next spring he'll show his film at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., and speak on his favorite topic: cleaning up the world's oceans.

"They want me to talk about the ocean," Wyatt says. "It's going to be a big process!"

He's contributing the proceeds from all his various artistic ventures to Oceana, a nonprofit ocean advocacy group (oceana.org).

Wyatt attends Wesley School in North Hollywood, Calif., which emphasizes community service.

As a 6-year old, he came home with an idea.

"I said 'I want to make a movie,' and my mom, like, freaked out," he says.

"He knew exactly what he wanted to do," says his mother, Timathea Workman. "He had me sit down for about 3-1/2 hours one evening while he dictated to me.

"He wanted me to write down all the things the characters would say and what would happen. Then he would work on the clay."

When Wyatt was ready, he'd call her in to take a photo with a camera, since his hands were covered with clay. The photos then were pieced together to create a stop-motion movie. (His cats – Chewie, Toulouse, and Marie – "helped out" by jumping up and making holes in the clay with their paws.)

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