5 Ways to Teach Kindness to Your Kids

This week I'm posting some of my most popular posts while I'm preparing for and going on a week's vacation. I hope you enjoy them--again! This one was originally posted April 10, 2012.

Children being kind to each other. Brothers and sisters helping one another. A child comforting another child when he's hurt. All are wonderful sights. But how does a child become kind and compassionate?

By being taught and witnessing it in the lives of the people he loves. When a child is treated kindly, he learns to respond the same way to others. The same goes for compassion. Here are a few ideas of how you can teach kindness to your kids.

1. When you hear a child crying in the store, don't get annoyed. Tell your child, "It sounds like someone feels sad." This acknowledges the noise, yet links it to an emotion. It makes you and your child feel bad for the sad child instead of yourself.

2. Take your children with you when you visit someone in the hospital. Let them hear the things you say to the patient and see how you gently touch them. Include them in the conversation.

3. When you see a homeless person, stop and give them something. We sometimes make a stop at the dollar store and pick up a few items of food, chapstick, bottled water, combs, etc. and go back to give it to the person. Talking to someone who's different than you takes away some of the mystery and fear of them. When children see and hear a homeless person's surprised and grateful response it impacts them deeply. The needy person's smile will remain in your child's mind long after the actual encounter.

4. Before your child has a friend over, remind her to play things the friend would like to play, to let the friend go first, and to treat the friend as the special guest he or she is.

5. Allow a child to help any way he can. This includes providing comfort to others of any age. Compliment their kindness.

Children can be taught kindness just as we teach them anything else in life. As always, the best teacher is your example, so be consistently kind to others and to your child. Speak gently and be kind through your actions and attitude.

What things have you done to teach your kids to be kind? In what ways have you seen your child being kind or compassionate?

Linda

5 Ways to Teach Kindness to Your Kids

Children being kind to each other. Brothers and sisters helping one another. A child comforting another child when he's hurt. All are wonderful sights. But how does a child become kind and compassionate?

By being taught and witnessing it in the lives of the people he loves. When a child is treated kindly, he learns to respond the same way to others. The same goes for compassion. Here are a few ideas of how you can teach kindness to your kids.

1. When you hear a child crying in the store, don't get annoyed. Tell your child, "It sounds like someone feels sad." This acknowledges the noise, yet links it to an emotion. It makes you and your child feel bad for the sad child instead of yourself.

2. Take your children with you when you visit someone in the hospital. Let them hear the things you say to the patient and see how you gently touch them. Include them in the conversation.

3. When you see a homeless person, stop and give them something. We sometimes make a stop at the dollar store and pick up a few items of food, chapstick, bottled water, combs, etc. and go back to give it to the person. Talking to someone who's different than you takes away some of the mystery and fear of them. When children see and hear a homeless person's surprised and grateful response it impacts them deeply. The needy person's smile will remain in your child's mind long after the actual encounter.

4. Before your child has a friend over, remind her to play things the friend would like to play, to let the friend go first, and to treat the friend as the special guest he or she is.

5. Allow a child to help any way he can. This includes providing comfort to others of any age. Compliment their kindness.

Children can be taught kindness just as we teach them anything else in life. As always, the best teacher is your example, so be consistently kind to others and to your child. Speak gently and be kind through your actions and attitude.

What things have you done to teach your kids to be kind? In what ways have you seen your child being kind or compassionate?

Linda

Simple Help



One of my favorite sights every morning as I drive my daughter to school is a dad who lives on the corner of my street. I don't know him or his family. But before I'd even seen them, I saw their license plate "MA2TWNS" and I knew something about them. They had twins.

Later, I'd see them loading matching infant car seats into their SUV, so I knew they were tiny twins. Now the sight I enjoy so much every day is the dad caring for his babies. I think they're both girls. One morning I saw him looking oh, so tired. A baby probably about 2-3 months old was draped over his arm. He bounced softly as he walked. I guessed she'd been awake most the night and they were still trying to get her to sleep. I admired his gentleness in spite of his fatigue. I respected that he was giving the mom a break of sorts, even though she still had one baby at home. He looked like he'd been drug through baby hell.

Lately, Twin Daddy pushes a double stroller in the mornings while it's still cool. We live in Arizona and though the calendar says "fall," our thermometers still read triple digits by afternoon. But the mornings are nice, in the 70s. What a blessing to see a dad so involved in the care of his children. And I'm sure the mom appreciates a few minutes of peace and quiet, too. His simple, loving act of getting the kids out of the house must speak volumes to her each day.

I'm blessed with a husband like that, even though our kids are almost all grown. He understood that I needed time alone, caring for no one but myself from time to time. He'd take the kids out for ice cream or some event and give me guilt-free "permission" to stay home instead of making me feel I had to go along to everything. He still does this for me!

When I was a single mom, my dad would come over on Sunday mornings (which were always chaotic!) and simply put the kids' shoes on them for me while I touched up my makeup, or gathered our Bibles. Such a simple act made a huge difference in my morning.

How about you? Is there one simple act someone does for you that eases your parenting load? Is there something you do to help someone else? Let's share how we can help parents in simple, practical ways.