As a mother, you can teach your kiddo many things to help ensure they grow into a wonderful person. Embracing kindness and compassion are among the most critical things to teach a child. After all, empathy helps us connect to others and form lifelong relationships. Find out how you can spread kindness with your child.
Talk About Behaviors
Young children don’t understand the world as adults do, and often, regulating their emotions may not be easy. Talk about negative emotions together and proper ways of coping with them.
For instance, if your child is angry because they had to share TV time and missed their favorite show, remind them that it’s okay. Feeling upset is natural. Also, point out how sharing the remote made another household member happy. Positive reinforcement helps kids realize why we consider certain actions “nice” while others are not.
Donate to Charity
Work as a team to clean their room and decide on items to donate. Giving to charity is a great way to teach your child about generosity and compassion. While sorting things, go through old clothes, toys, and books. Be a role model for your child and donate some of your items so they don’t view it as an obligatory task or chore for them.
Parenting Tip
One tip for donating old books to charity is to organize them according to genre and age group. Place the books your child plans to give away in a separate box from any novels you own. This makes it easier for the charity to sort everything and pushes your kind deed one step further.
Make Cards
Another wonderful way to spread kindness with your child is to make cards for others. You can find a nonprofit that sends cards to soldiers or bring them to a retirement home and visit with the seniors. Many hospitals also accept cards and hand them out to patients.
Think of Tasks Together
Sit with your child and think up kind deeds as a team when in doubt. The act feels more meaningful when it’s the individual’s idea, and your little one has countless great ideas. Simply saying “hello” to the neighbors or offering a hug after work can brighten any day. If you need some inspiration, other great ideas include:
- Baking for others
- Handing out compliments
- Reading to siblings
- Sharing toys or food
The list is endless, and together the two of you will think of incredible deeds to spread joy.
Looking to learn more about motherhood and how to navigate the adventure? Listen to the That’s Total Mom Sense podcast!
