How to Instill Kindness in Children

How do you instill kindness in your child? Teaching our kids kindness is more important than ever before. Here are some good tips!

Kindness is a way of looking at the world through the eyes of your heart. A pat on the back or a wave to an elderly neighbor can be all it takes for our youngest children. They can even break cookies in two to share with their younger siblings. 

On the other hand, Kindergartners might show compassion by inviting someone who is lonely to join them for lunch or by contributing some of their allowances to an organization they believe in.

It’s critical to instill a sense of self-worth in your children from an early age, no matter what that may mean to you. Making our country a more compassionate environment may seem impossible in the current political climate, but you can teach compassion to your children. 

Only a few tangible activities and a few moments for self-reflection are needed for success. To raise a new generation of good people, you must take responsibility for yourself.

Educate Them on What Kindness Is

If your youngsters are still too little to grasp the significance of kindness, now is an excellent time to introduce the topic to them. Because of a mechanism known as the mirror neuron system, we are born with the ability to empathize with others. 

As a result, if you observe your 2-year-old sobbing because another child has fallen on the playground, take advantage of the moment to explain what it’s like to be in that child’s shoes. 

If empathy is the ability to comprehend, compassion is the ability to act on that comprehension. That’s a skill that develops later in life for children. As a child’s brain matures, he is able to better distinguish between you and me, and this is when he develops a sense of empathy.

Make Them Dream Big.

One of the most valuable questions we can ask our children is, “What would it feel like?” A compassionate individual must have an active imagination—the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes is essential.

Playing pretend can help young children learn empathy, and it’s a great way to do it. In the future, you can ask your children to imagine more complex real-life events as you experience them. There are a plethora of possibilities for contemplation that you can provide. 

A child’s reaction to this style of thinking becomes automatic over time, and so does their thinking. When she sees a kid who hasn’t brought his lunch, she immediately offers to share hers with him.

Give Everyone You Meet Your Best Efforts to Be Kind.

This is one of the best way how you can instill kindness in your child. No matter what they do, we have no control over it. However, we may look for ways to be compassionate to others in their place. 

Thanks to their eagerness to mimic us at an early age, children are able to learn from us from a very early age. It’s critical that parents instill in their children the importance of being kind to others from an early age. 

This encompasses anything from putting down your phone to saying “thank you” to delivering food to the sick to offering sympathy to those who have recently lost a loved one. Of course, the way we treat our children is also important to consider. 

Being kind to your children also entails showing them that you have plenty of love, praise, laughter, and attention to go around, which is especially important if you have multiple children. As a parent, it is important for your children to witness you show compassion for yourself.

Related article: Helping Children Develop Emotional Intelligence in Small Steps

Be a Good Neighbor

Make it easier for your kids to connect the abstract concept of kindness with the many concrete actions that perform it, such as helping a classmate with a math problem or an elderly person who needs a seat on the bus, by pointing out the many ways in which kindness is demonstrated. To foster kindness and make the world a better place, courteous behaviors such as saying please and thanking the school bus driver also help.

Recognize That Being Generous Is Not Always Simple

We owe it to ourselves and our children to remember that being kind might be difficult at times. It doesn’t always come naturally to you, but that doesn’t mean you’re not good at heart. You are. 

It’s difficult to be kind to a sibling who is irritating you. Speaking out for a friend or classmate who is being treated unfairly can be nerve-wracking. It can be uncomfortable to express sympathy to someone who is in mourning. 

When dealing with someone who is neurologically or physically disabled, it might be difficult to know how to act. All we can do is gently teach our children to consider how others might feel—and then urge them to take responsibility for any mistakes they may make, since apologizing is itself a compassionate act. In addition, the more children practice kindness, the easier it will be for them to do so.

Related article: 7 Ideas for Children to Do Random Kindness Deeds

Observe Kindness’ Positive Effects.

Please encourage your children to take note of how it feels to be nice, as well as how others react. Kindness doesn’t necessitate sacrificing yourself. You can do it because it’s fun and because it makes you feel good to do it. 

In the same way, you want your children to be aware of the kindness they receive so that they can express thanks in return. Think of your child’s pleasure as a helix made up of two strands: kindness and thankfulness. From the givers to the receivers, everyone will reap the benefits of kindness over time.

Related article: Encourage Kindness in Small Ways

These tips are just some of the ways how you can begin to instill kindness in your child and raise them to be wholesome and intelligent adults.