Kindness is extremely contagious! The sense of doing good develops as kids grow. If kids are provided with good role models it becomes intrinsically rewarding to do kind acts for people. Nurturing kindness in kids is nice for the other person and for the kid. Kind kids even experience a better sense of self-value. They see the impact that that actions and behaviors have on other people.
Kindness might mean something different to each kid. Yet, kindness is something that is universally understood. Naming emotions helps kids to emphasize. Understanding where emotions come from and being able to name and identify them will help kids to identify emotions in others, which may help them to carry out kind actions. Talk about what kindness is. Look up some definitions in a dictionary and let kids write their own definitions of the word. One way to explain the word is to say that it is a powerful yet simple action. Think of words that are connected to kindness such as caring, respectful behavior, and thoughtful.
