5 ways kids can practice kindness
Kind kid, hand painted then digitally printed A5, A4 and A3 print
Young children (especially toddlers) sometimes struggle to grasp the concept of ‘sharing’ and haven’t developed the ability to grasp and process complex emotions, but they are inherently kind beings. Here are some ideas you can try with your little one to encourage and celebrate the natural kindness in children.
SHARE TOYS / FOOD This is an easy way to incorporate sharing into everyday activities. Taking turns using toys and acknowledging the fact that they would like to use a toy, but are praised for waiting their turn whilst a friend or sibling is using the toy is developing the ability to take turns and be patient. You can even get them to help sort through some of their old toys, clothes and books to give to charity so that other children can enjoy them. This is a concept perhaps for older children to grasp, but it a great way to practise thinking of others and to empathise with those less fortunate.
MAKE SOMETHING FOR A LOVED ONE Write a letter, create a piece of art or drawing or even make a card for someone they love. This could be a Covid-distanced grandparent, family member, a teacher or friend. They will not only enjoy the process of creating something and sharing it , but also the reaction and response once the person has received the thoughtful gift - and hopefully gets in touch to talk about it, thus reinforcing the good feelings they will have when the recipient is happy and grateful from their kind gesture.
PRAISE KIND BEHAVIOUR It sounds very simple but the best thing to do to produce more kindness is to encourage kind habits and praise children for their kind actions. Every time they do something kind, really show how pleased you are with them and how highly you regard that behaviour, it will encourage them to repeat that behaviour as they enjoy feeling good, as well as making others feel good too - remember kindness is infectious!
PICK UP LITTER Next time you visit the park or beach, or it could be on your next walk, you can plan to collect some rubbish to make the environment a cleaner and lovelier place. Plan ahead: prepare for the litter picking so take some rubbish bags, and maybe gloves or pinchy litter pickers - which can be fun for children to use, and talk about the event before you go out. Seeing the improvement when the rubbish has been collected is an instant visual way of seeing the accumulation of your efforts and all the hard work you have achieved and can also lead nicely into bigger environmental discussions about caring for the planet.
SET AN EXAMPLE Remember, you are a role model and someone children look up to, especially those in your care, so treat people with kindness and as you would like to be treated. Children are like sponges and absorb everything so make sure they’re absorbing good behaviour from you! You can look at other people in a group environment and play “I spy kindness” so you create a game where you look to see other people - adults and children being kind to each other. Recognising and articulating when you see this behaviour is a very effective way of highlighting good deeds and actions, not to mention a fun way to people watch and pass away the time.
I have always held the act of being kind to be central in my thoughts and actions (as much as possible, I’m not perfect by any means), but it’s so important to me and after having my son that it’s an attribute that I want to encourage in him. It’s just as important as being brave and intelligent, and physically active, and especially to champion the behaviour among boys. That was the inspiration behind my hand painted ‘kind kid’ print in the image above, and also in my monochrome series of designs ‘When I Grow Up - Kind Kid’ print.
I hope there are some good ideas you can try with your little one
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