As I pondered what I would write about this Sunday, kindness continued to be a word that continued to resonate with me. As I raise my daughter, there are many key character traits I desire her to have, and kindness tops the list.
I believe that if we teach our children kindness — to love others and ultimately treat others as you desire to be treated — it will be easy for us to instill.
Encouraging kindness is an important responsibility for all adults who care for children. You can help children show kindness toward others and experience the positive feelings that grow out of kind and caring behavior. To insure this happens, I suggest you follow the suggestions listed below.
• Set a good example. Children learn constantly from the words and actions of adults.
• Even with your busy schedule, you can involve children in acts of kindness. By helping an elderly neighbor or giving canned goods to a food bank, you can demonstrate your concern for others.
• Explain to children why you want them to engage in kind behavior. Children are more likely to comply with the wishes of adults when they hear a reasonable and understandable explanation. For example, “Aunt Jan has been visiting with Grandma all week at the hospital, so she is really tired. Would you please play quietly so that she can rest and relax?”
• To be an effective adult role model, you must match your words with your actions. For example, if you compliment someone's new clothes but make fun of the way the clothes look when the person is gone, children receive a powerful message. They learn that saying one thing and doing another is acceptable.
• Expressing appreciation for kind and thoughtful behavior is another way to set a good example for children. By reinforcing the kind behaviors of children, you are helping them to understand that their kindness makes a positive difference. For example, “Kelly, I'm really glad that you shared the blocks with RJ. See how much he likes playing with them!”
• Children need to know that the adults in their lives care about them and others. Children who experience respect and appreciation from adults are more likely to demonstrate caring toward others.
Here are some suggestions for creating foundations of kindness in children during the early years (birth to age 5).
• Trust: The quality of care you give to infants can greatly influence their later development. If babies learn that the adults around them are kind and dependable, they will learn to trust the world and themselves. When you respond sensitively to a baby's needs, he or she will feel valued and important, which builds the foundation of kindness toward others.
• Consistency: If you express consistent expectations of children, they develop predictable views of the world. Be consistent and clear with directions and explanations so children will feel safe in exploring the world and trying new things. If your requests and reasons are inconsistent, children become confused and unsure about what is expected.
• Positive guidance: Young children learn best when they are not frightened or angry. By using guidance based on love and respect, you can help young children become aware of the consequences of their behavior for others. Research says that harsh physical punishment can weaken the trust children have in adults. Physical punishment does not help children learn self-control. When adults use physical discipline, children feel angry at adults and ashamed of themselves. When young children experience consistent and positive guidance, they are more likely to act kindly toward others.
Here are some suggestions for building bridges between children ages 6 to 12 and others:
• Encourage children to think about others: Many school-age children are able to see the world through another’s eyes. By encouraging this ability, you are helping children to reason and think about interpersonal matters. If a school-age child engages in unkind behavior with another child, explain to her or him why the behavior is unacceptable and how this behavior makes the other child feel.
• Create opportunities and express appreciation: During the school years, you can give children more responsibility for being helpful and kind to others. By creating such opportunities for children, you also can tell them how much you appreciate their helpful behavior and how this behavior affects others. This enables children to experience the good feelings that result from being kind to others and may result in them initiating acts of kindness on their own.
• Practice empathy: Empathy is defined as the ability to identify oneself mentally with a person or thing and so understand his or her feelings or meaning. Empathy also involves connecting with the feelings and needs of things other than people, such as animals and the environment. You can practice empathic behavior and encourage school-age children to do the same. You can show them how empathy can help solve everyday problems.
• Jennifer Russell is an area child and family development agent for the Mississippi State University Extension Service. You may contact her at 453-6803 or jbrown@ext.msstate.edu.
