10 Acts of Kindness You Can Teach Your Child

Preschoolers are extremely impressionable, and in today’s digital society it is increasingly more probable that your darling three to five year old will pick up some not so favorable habits.  The most amazing characteristic about this particular age group is that they have a natural innocence about them, which fosters an innate sense of kindness.  Simply put: Kind children make kind adults. 

Here are 10 tips to help make sure you teach and enforce kindness in your preschooler!

1.    Sharing: This one might seem obvious, but for a lot of children sharing isn’t something that comes easily.  Make it a point to encourage sharing and point out when you share something with them so they can mimic the behavior.  

2.    See Something, Say Something: Since this age group is so impressionable, if you see someone doing something kind, make sure your child sees it and explain why that was a nice thing to do.

3.    Donate: Have your child go through the process of sifting through toys they don’t play with anymore and donating them.  Have them go with you to drop them off so they can see the happiness their old, unused toys bring to other children.

4.    Explain Why: Saying please and thank you is definitely important, but your children should understand why.  Help your preschooler understand the true meaning of gratitude.

5.    Model Behavior: As a parent, you are your child’s favorite teacher.  They want to emulate you – so give them something to emulate!

6.    Enforce Rules – By enforcing right and wrong, your child will begin to understand why something isn’t appropriate.  They need to understand when they aren’t being kind, and what the consequences are.  

7.    Random Acts Of Kindness: As opposed to just telling your preschooler what to do, have them act out kindness at random times so they can feel what it’s like to make someone feel good about something.

8.    Volunteering: This is one that helps build internal motivation.  Understanding that an act of kindness means doing something because you want to and not necessarily because of what you’ll receive in return is an important lesson.

9.    Notice: The best thing you can do as a parent is recognize positive behavior.  If your preschooler shows kindness, make sure you shower them with praise and let them know how proud you are.  There is nothing a preschooler wants in this world more than recognition from the people they love the most.

10.    Vigilance: Finally, try to shield your preschooler from as much negativity as possible. Cyberbullying and bullying are a very unfortunate reality.  Be cognizant of what your preschool hears or sees online and try to keep tabs on what kind of media they’re consuming.  Screen time is fine in small quantities and making sure your preschooler knows acceptable and unacceptable behavior will be key to their development of kindness.  

Have any tips for teaching kindness to a child? Let us know in the comments!