How to Teach Kindness to Your Kids

You are reading “How to Teach Kindness to Your Kids.”

Do you ever have a hard time with kindness? Sometimes when I’m tired and I just need to be alone, I’m not as kind as I can be. I don’t mean anything bad, really I don’t. I just get empty and have nothing left to give then I become unkind.

People see your kindness, or lack there of, from your behavior whether you want them to or not.

Your children are in the front row seat in the classroom of kindness and trust me I know there is nothing more depleting than giving to our kids every day but teaching them how to be kind even when we don’t want to be is an amazing tool that will serve them well throughout their lives.

The first way to teach kindness is to live it.

Words matter. Your tone matters, too. Everything that comes out of your mouth matters. You either build up or tear down with what you say. Are there any neutral words ever spoken?

Don’t forget to try again. Some days it’s ok to chill out. If you are hormonal or tired or something else, take a chill and try again later.

It’s also ok to tell your kids that you’ve messed up so they can learn from your mistakes. You simply need to let them see your mistakes, as ugly as it can be. Then try again after a chill, reflection, and apology.

Kindness is beautiful but we are not perfect. If you are not bubbling with kindness ask God to soften your heart to help you become a kind person.

Talk to your family. Share with them that you’ve noticed some unkind behavior from you or from others in the family. Ask for accountability from each other and come up with a way to chart it. Perhaps a simple grid and stickers to add when something goes well. Perhaps you can use legos for building-up words and remove them when someone uses tearing-down words. Get creative.

The second way to teach it is to learn about it.

Get into the Word and let the scriptures do some teaching. There are many verses about kindness.

You could do a Bible verse hunt. Look up kindness verses as a family and write them out. Make a cool poster or write them in a notebook.

Find a book about someone who was a great example of kindness.

The third way is do it together.

Family meetings are great to reinforce when things are going both good and bad. Talk about situations that happened today and whether the situation was handled well. How can you be kind to your family today?

Regular reminders of God’s kindness is a wonderful way to build each other up. Make notes for your kids using your own kind words or Bible verses.

Find ways to share kindness with others. Service projects are a great way to teach kindness to your kids. How can you be kind to someone you don’t know today?

If you or your kids struggle with kindness, these tips can help you cultivate a kind heart even on hard days. Living our kindness is always worth it.