Tips to Teach Kindness
Our character Warm-Hearted Walrus has some wonderful tips to help teach kindness to children and why not try some of these at work and home! Remember, our children do watch us, they do hear us and they most likely want to be like us when they grow up. So, from the words of BenFranklin:
“TELL me and I forget, TEACH me and I remember, INVOLVE me and I learn.”
Talk with your children the importance of kindness. What does it look like? What does it feel like? What does it sound like?
Take your children to do volunteer work in your community, your office or even the local schools. Volunteers are always welcome!
Allow and encourage your child to do kind gestures. For example: help a neighbor with yard work, or spend time with an elderly or lonely person. You will bring a lot of joy to others and your child will feel the feel of being kind.
While at home one may call them ‘chores’ but, encourage kindness at home, too. For example, voluntarily taking out the trash, doing the dishes, helping out around the yard, helping siblings with homework or spending time with them because they can.
Write a letter to a long lost friend or relative. Write a letter to a member of the community to thank them for their service in what they do to make your community a better place to live, work and play.
Talk about who makes a community, there are so many! From our Police Officers, Firemen and women, Teachers, Crossing Guards, Grocery Clerks, Bankers, Chefs, Our Armed Forces and so many more. Respectful Rabbit has a book on members in the community and there are activities to engage your children in learning and using their imagination to bring them to life in cut outs.
During the Holidays there are so many ways to volunteer and use your hands, at a Food Bank, a Coat Drive, shoveling snow, raking leaves, drawing and writing cards for Assisted Living residents and for family and friends.
Teach your children to do charity work, they will internalize this feeling and carry on into their adult lives because there is no greater feeling of helping others out. While they may not understand at first these kind gestures are done for free, they will soon learn the importance of them.
YOU can be encouraging to your children to engage in acts of kindness and be sure to acknowledge them for these! The more kindness we can share the more others will see your kindness, feel your kindness and they will not only appreciate you, they may just do the same for somebody else.
Characters of Character has a Superhero Activity book your child will love! Talk with your children about what it means to be Super. Ask them what they like about who they are and how it makes them feel super. Encourage kindness always because the world needs more of that. The world needs more role models on kindness. The world needs to hear more about others doing acts of kindness. The world needs to hear kindness in conversations and activities. The world needs to feel the love that surrounds them and be encouraged by kindness. The world needs YOU. Warm-Hearted Walrus has an activity book.
Life isn’t cut and dry, we learn from our mistakes. We grow from our lessons and we should find it easy to be kind to others, by using kind words, by doing kind things, by paying a compliment, by extending a handshake, by asking how someone is doing, etc. Can you imagine what a wonderful world this could be if kindness were the norm, all day, every day? Imagine less bullying in society. Imagine less negative comments. Imagine less negative thoughts. Imagine what your home would feel like if kindness was the language of choice. Imagine what your classroom would like if kindness was the language used. Imagine what your work environment would feel like if kindness were the culture. I do have one more favorite quote you’ve heard, I’m sure:
