kindness rule for kids
Acts of Kindness for Kids
I recall my father sitting down with my sister and me and establishing one rule in the home: the kindness rule. A rule that requires you to be kind to others, yourself, and all that is around you. Looking back at this rule now, I realize how important it was to the establishment of my emotional intelligence and compassion as an individual.
Kindness is the act of being friendly, generous, and considerate; it is synonymous with big-hearted, understanding, and a surplus of other qualities we hope to see in our children.
By initiating kindness, we initiate positive change in our lives and the lives of others. While some children innately develop attributes of kindness, others may need more guidance in order to fully understand and employ kindness in their lives. Once again, as we should teach any other character trait to our children, lead by example. Show your child how to be kind to their neighbor, show them how to volunteer their time to help those in need, clean up the park that is full of litter, and bring a grieving friend dinner. Parents must lead by their actions, as well as their words.
Here are some of the best ways to help your child practice kindness:
➢ Model the behavior you wish to see.
➢ Illuminate an individual’s emotions around you.
➢ Reveal how your child’s behavior affects those around them.
➢ Quickly extinguish rude behavior from your children to yourself and others.
➢ Partake in acts of kindness with them.
Kindness does not always fall at the top of the list of parents’ priorities; however, kindness positively impacts the brain, the heart, and general health, and has been found to disrupt depression. There is an effect that occurs from being the giver of a good deed that is known as the “helper’s high.” In this case, the individual who partook in the act of kindness reaps the same rewarding feeling as the individual who received the act of kindness. The same pleasure center in the brain lights up for both individuals. Another study revealed that individuals who frequently practice kindness have 23% less cortisol, the stress hormone, than the rest of the population.
These statistics are ample enough reason to practice kindness, but get this: kindness is contagious. By helping your child practice kindness, they will be showing others how to be kind, and how to practice that kindness; it is a domino effect of positive, hopeful change in a world where kindness seems to be fleeting.