Page 38 - Parents Magazine (December 2019)
P. 38
KIDSÑVa lues
R AI S E
KIND
PE O PLE
The best thing you can do to make the world a better place is to
create a culture of kindness in your own home.
Consider these ways to show your children why the Golden Rule rules.
by CATHERINE NEWMAN / photograph by PRISCILLA GRAGG
I RECENTLY ASKED my friends and Life-Changing Power of Giving and daunting these days, but fostering
family, “When you think about instilling Receiving and cocreator of Daniel Tiger’s compassion in your family is entirely
kindness in your kids, what do you mean Neighborhood. For our littlest kids, doable. Just focus on the considerate
by kindness?” They had many different this might mean patting the back of a habits of daily life, a few concrete
responses: compassion, generosity, worried friend, waving to an elderly actions, and a little reflection thrown
empathy, justice, alleviating suffering. neighbor, or breaking a cookie in half in for good measure. Here’s how to
But every answer involved an underlying to share with a younger brother. For step up and commit to raising the next
consideration for others, rather than older kids, kindness might be inviting generation of truly good people.
acting only out of self-interest. It makes a lonely classmate to join their lunch
sense that this is also the definition of table, comforting someone who’s sad or Help them understand what
humane, because kindness is the most scared, or donating some of their kindness means.
fundamental expression of what it allowance to a cause they care about. Even before your kids are old enough to
means to be a human being. Whatever it means to you, it’s act kindly, you can start talking about it.
Kindness is about “seeing with your important to help nurture it in your Empathy is hardwired in us from birth
heart,” explains Angela C. Santomero, children from a young age. Making our through what’s known as the mirror-
author of Radical Kindness: The country a kinder place may seem neuron system, and we intuitively feel
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