Teaching our Kids to be Kind
Kindness and a good attitude towards others are skills that are learned and developed over time, so model this behavior to your children by treating others well, by discussing with your children what kindness means and by helping others in need as a family.
According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation: "When we go beyond duties that are expected of us and reach out to help another person or group of people, we are performing a Random Act of Kindness. Kindness and empathy are very closely related: kindness is the observable expression of empathy. We sense another person's need, we understand how it feels to be in need (due to our own past experience), and we decide to offer our help."
Essentially, kindness is giving for the sake of giving, not in order to receive something in return. It is seeing a need and meeting it. So make kindness a family learning experience with these ideas from the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation:
Discussions
Whether in the classroom or at the family dinner table, these topic starters will get your kids thinking about what kindness means:
· Identify a person in history or a particular story that illustrates a kind, selfless act. Discuss how the act changed others and how the characters felt.
· Have a "You are special" time in your family, where everyone's name is randomly drawn and something nice is said about them.
· Have your family members share what kind acts they did that day. Then talk about how doing something nice made them feel, and how the other person responded.
Kindness in Action
Serve others as a family, or even as part of a group of other neighborhood families, with these projects and simple ideas:
· Collect canned goods for a local food bank.
· Help serve dinner at a local homeless shelter.
· Donate time at a senior citizen home or spend an afternoon with a homebound person.
· "Adopt" an animal through a local zoo, aquarium or other organization.
· Encourage your children to show kindness at school. They can make a new student feel welcome; write a thank-you note to their teacher, principal or custodian; wave to their crossing guard; share their snack; or encourage a classmate who seems lonely or is having a bad day.
· Call a family member who lives far away and tell them you love them.
· Have your family give at least one compliment to somebody every day.
Listen to more parenting tips:
Visit www.MyFamilyMinute.com for more free marriage, parenting, family life and fatherhood information and resources.
E-Mail
RSS
