Children are naturally emphatic but we should encourage them to practice being kind and compassionate as they grow more aware of the world they live in.
How do we teach kindness to our children in hopes they grow up to be the kind generation of the future?
Be the true example of a kind human being. Cultivate acts of kindness, find what resonates with you as a family. The idea is to perform acts of kindness and compassion regularly, fostering an awareness in your children of how others in or outside of your community.
Show them compassion, be gentle when other makes mistakes.
Teach your children to practice forgiveness.
Teach them how to love themselves by showing them that you love yourself despite who you are.
Children view us an example and we need to be careful of the way we speak to ourselves or other people. This will have a tremendous impact on how they view and speak to others in the future.
Encourage helping could start in the comfort of your own home. Allow them to participate in getting dressed, fetching needed items, putting the toys away and such.
Praise them, so it builds their confidence in helping others outside of their home. Always tell your child that they are kind, good, true, brave and strong will internalize those ideals within them.
“Children learn more from what you are than what you teach.”