Kindness involves an action, intent, and empathy towards another person. Most of all, the desire for kindness to others is, at its core, a learned behavior. Children learn how to be kind by being exposed to people exhibiting kind behavior. Therefore, parents and caregivers that want children to adopt kindness as a character trait must encourage the behaviors through their own actions.
Kindness
Kindness boards a bus
Kindness stands so you can sit.
Kindness unwraps a sandwich and gives you the bigger half. —Irene Latham
Kindness involves inclusion. As long as children view people differently than themselves as “others,” and less then, the exclusion will become a painful experience for many. No parent or caregiver wants to be on the receiving end of hearing their child was excluded or vice versa. Therefore, children need to accept everyone is a human being, no matter their differences.
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” —Mother Teresa
Children have multiple platforms to practice acts of kindness. This can occur both in a virtual world and face-to-face interaction. Here is a list of resources that encourages kind choices when interacting with others.