Lead Your Child with Love and Kindness…
Children learn kindness best when adults
model self-compassion and refrain from
negative talk about themselves. Children
learn by doing-encourage them to care for one
another and share their feelings with friends,
family, and teachers.
Research shows we benefit greatly when we are kind to others and ourselves.
Being kind is a great habit for our emotional well-being. Being kind can help
reduce stress, anxiety and depression. Kind people feel less isolated and tend to
have deeper, more meaningful relationships. It also has effects on our physical
wellbeing, including decreasing our blood pressure and stress hormones like
cortisol.
And kinder people live longer, healthier lives. People who volunteer regularly
tend to experience fewer aches and pains. People 55 and older who volunteer for
two or more organizations have an impressive 44 percent lower likelihood of dying
-even when they have other contributing factors like poor physical health,
smoking, and many more. Being kind has a more substantial effect than exercising
four times a week or going to church and it means that volunteering is nearly as
beneficial to our health as quitting smoking
We feel so good when we give because we get what researchers call a "helper
high," or a distinct physical sensation associated with helping.
So, if we want to raise kids who are happy and healthy, one of the best things we
can do is teach them to be kind. As this season approaches consider what ways
you can teach your young children to be kind.
Here are a few ways:
1. Help them understand what kindness means.
2. Encourage children to be kind during pretend play. Using a doll or stuffed
animal encourages them to care for their babies.
3. Model being kind wherever you go.
4. Notice the effects of kindness around you. In your children and yourself.
In the long run, kindness will benefit everyone in a million different ways.
That's what Angela C. Santomero, the author of Radical Kindness calls "the
kindness ripple effect," and it couldn't matter more. Not just to your children but
to our world as well.