Raising Kind Children

Encouraging kindness in children is an important responsibility for all adults who care for children. You can help children show kindness toward others and experience the positive feelings that grow out of kind and caring behavior.

• Set a good example. Children learn constantly from adults' words and actions.
• Even with your busy schedule, you can involve children in acts of kindness. By helping an elderly neighbor or giving canned goods to a food bank, you can demonstrate your concern for others.
• Explain to children why you want them to engage in kind behavior. Children are more likely to comply with adults' wishes when they hear a reasonable and understandable explanation. For example, "Aunt Jean has been visiting with Grandma all week long at the hospital, so she is really tired. Would you please play quietly so that she can rest and relax?"
• To be an effective adult role model, you must match your words with your actions. For example, if you compliment someone's new clothes, but make fun of the way the clothes look when the person is gone, children receive a powerful message. They learn that saying one thing and doing another is acceptable.
• Expressing appreciation for kind and thoughtful behavior is another way to set a good example for children. By reinforcing children's kind behavior, you are helping them to understand that their kindness makes a positive difference. For example, "Corrina, I'm really glad that you shared the blocks with Andy. See how much he likes playing with them!"
• Children need to know that the adults in their lives care about them and about others. Children who experience respect and appreciation from adults are more likely to demonstrate caring toward others.