Page 44 - Parents Magazine (December 2019)

KIDSÑVa lues

flow out of you naturally—but that
doesn’t mean that you’re not kind.”
BOOKS THAT SEND THE RIGHT MESSAGE
It can be challenging to be generous
with a sibling who’s annoying you. It can Your kids can read these by themselves, but
reading out loud gives you a wonderful opportunity to reflect
be scary to stick up for a friend or a
on the meaning of the stories together.
classmate who isn’t being treated right.
It can feel awkward to offer condolences
to a grieving person. It can be confusing
to know how to act with a person who’s JUST ASK! BE DIFFERENT,
differently abled, either neurologically BE BRAVE, BE YOU
By Sonia Sotomayor, illustrated
or physically.
by Rafael López
All we can do is gently coach our kids
Looking back on her experience
to remember how other people might
as a child with diabetes, Supreme
be feeling—and then encourage them to Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
take responsibility for whatever ways writes about kids who have many
they might screw up, since apologizing different kinds of challenges. It
reminds readers that “each of us
is itself a form of kindness. Plus, the
grows in our own way, so if you’re
more that children get in the habit of curious about other kids, just
behaving kindly, the more natural ask!” Ages 4 to 8
it will become. “Kindness really is
like a muscle,” Dr. Naumburg explains. THE SOMEONE NEW
By Jill Twigg and EG Keller
“The more you practice saying kind
When a snail’s garden floods, he
things, the easier it’s going to be when
escapes to another part of the
it’s hard.”
forest to look for a new home. A
chipmunk isn’t welcoming at first
Pay attention to the effects but then learns that “kindness is
of kindness. stronger than fear. And sometimes
it takes very special friends to
Help your children notice how it feels to
be brave enough to tell you that
be kind—and how other people respond. you’re wrong.” Ages 4 to 8
My own teenagers still remember a
time long ago when they were given free AN INVISIBLE THREAD,
Munchkins at Dunkin’ Donuts because YOUNG READERS EDITION
By Laura Schroff and
our server was so touched by their
Alex Tresniowski
friendly politeness. “Kindness doesn’t
In this heartwarming true story,
only have to be altruistic,” my 19-year-
a homeless 11-year-old boy
old son said to me recently, and he’s asks an ad-sales exec for spare
right. You can practice it for the change and ends up finding a
rewards and because it feels good. true friend. Ages 8+
Similarly, you want your kids to notice
LLAMA LLAMA AND
when people are being kind to them,
THE BULLY GOAT
which will, in turn, engender gratitude. By Anna Dewdney
Think of kindness and gratitude as This is a classic rhyming story that
two strands that twist together into promotes forgiveness: Gilroy Goat
the helix of your child’s happiness. teases Llama Llama and other
animal classmates. But with a little
In the long run, kindness will benefit
help from the teacher, everyone
everyone—the practitioners and the
plays together nicely by the end
recipients—in a million different ways. of the school day. Ages 2 to 5
That’s what Santomero calls “the
kindness ripple effect,” and it couldn’t WISHTREE
By Katherine Applegate
matter more.
When a boy carves a hateful
message about a Muslim refugee
family into an old oak tree, the
GIFT THESE READS!
Scan this code tree asks the birds and animals for
with your phone’s help spreading kindness. Ages 8+
camera to find
PETER ARDITO.
these books in our
Amazon shop
(no app needed).

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