Values for Children: Kindness

Want to teach your children values?
Below, you will find tips, tools, and resources to teach them about Kindness

• Random Acts: Small gestures make a big difference.  Make a plan to do something kind for another person with your child at least one day a week.  It could be holding the door for someone at the store, bringing the neighbors a special treat, or taking the Kids for Kindness Challenge!  Soon, kindness will become a habit in your family.
• Through Play: Children learn and develop their personality through play.  Don’t allow them to pretend to be mean, bossy, and wicked during their play.  For example, My daughters love to play house.  Audrey likes to be the Mom and Emma and the other dolls are her children.  I don’t let Audrey pretend to be mean and bossy to Emma, and I don’t let Emma be sassy and rude to her sister.  Be vigilant.  Chances are, if they are practicing it through their play, it will come out when interacting with others.
• Practice Makes Perfect: How your children treat you is a good indication of how they will treat others.  Help them practice kindness by teaching them basic Manners at home.  Don’t let your children ask for anything without a “please” and if they don’t use “thank you” when you hand it to them, take it back.  This will make their behavior outside of your home even better!
• Kill’em with Kindness:  Kindness is powerful.  If you can teach your children to react to negative comments with kindness instead of a negative emotion, they will be happier, more confident, and have less bullies.  Practice this by asking them to respond to your question like, “I don’t like your shirt” with a nice comment like, “Oh, well I think your shirt is really cool.  Where did you get it?” They might just make a friend from an enemy.

Books that Teach Values: Kindness

Character Book set

Strong character and social finesse are essential for success in life.  Unfortunately, most preschool curriculum sets neglect these two areas in favor of more conventional subjects.  The books included in this set will teach your children to act in accordance with Biblical virtues, like: love for God, respect for authority, hard work, self-discipline, personal accountability, and an awareness and concern for others.

These books give parents practical ideas for fostering these virtues in their children’s day to day lives. We have also included Responsibility Charts that help help parents systematically introduce chores and responsibilities to their children.

 

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