Reading Time: 3 minutes

Random Acts of Kindness Week takes place between the 13th and 19th of February and encourages people to demonstrate how easy it can be to give and to share with others. This holiday focuses on making kindness a standard for us all to follow and try to make our society a better place to live in.

This week is about showing appreciation for everyone and everything around us, helping those in need and taking action, or by simply putting a smile on someone’s face.

The importance of teaching kindness at a young age:

When a child performs an act of kindness, it’s not just a feel-good moment, it generates a sense of calm and can also help reduce stress. Helping others in the community can have a positive impact on your child and boost their self-esteem and confidence. We all know the saying, “lead by example”, well it’s never too early to start! There are many ways you can model the behaviour you’d like to see in your child. If they see you showing kindness, then they will too.

Here are some ways to encourage kindness:

Take time to care for others. Whether it’s walking dogs from a shelter, donating food and clothes or making a card for someone we love, the emotion of love is felt the same, no matter how small or how big the act is. 

Show gratitude. Openly express the things you are grateful for and encourage your children to do the same. If you catch yourselves falling into the habit of complaining, take a pause and switch it around by appreciating the good. A gratitude jar can be a great addition to your home. On special occasions (or when you’re feeling low), you can empty the jar and share everyone’s memoirs over a hot chocolate!

Care for the Earth. Kindness is more than just caring for people, don’t forget about our incredible planet Earth that we live on which supports life itself, including our own. Some simple ways can be to promote a recycling system so your kids can help out at home. Emphasize the importance of not littering and participating in the local community clean-ups or tree planting events can make all the difference.

Give compliments. Compliments are something we just can’t get enough of. For many people out there, a compliment can be the biggest highlight of their day. 

Researchers at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Japan found that the same part of the brain (the striatum) that is activated when a person is given money, is also activated when a person receives a compliment. It just goes to show how important it really is. Give your child plenty of praise and try to avoid judgemental comments or criticism.

Think kind thoughts. All our actions start as a thought. Help your child build a positive mental foundation by increasing their kind thoughts. Ask your child to imagine someone they would like to send a kind thought to and voice what they would like to say to them. Take your turn to do the same.

Children mostly learn new behaviours by copying what they see, so as parents and teachers, we have a responsibility to teach by example and a beautiful opportunity to share love. 

For the well being of this planet and for a union of all mankind, the greatest gift we can give our children today is not money or objects… perhaps it’s an education based on kindness.

Reading Time: 3 minutes