Teaching Children About Random Acts of Kindness

Random acts of kindness are acts performed by an individual with the sole intent being to bring joy and happiness to another person. There is no expectation of being thanked or repaid in any way; spreading kindness is the one and only goal. Teaching children about random acts of kindness is the perfect way to instill selflessness and a desire to give in them.

If your children are young, simply include them in your own random acts of kindness and they will come to know these acts naturally, by watching you. If they are grade school aged or older, work together with them to help them truly understand how to be kind to others and why it is so important. Encourage them to share their ideas and be sure to follow through on them. Coming up with their own random act of kindness, executing it and then reaping the intangible rewards will be extremely rewarding to all involved.

Here are some ways your children can perform random acts of kindness:

Leave cheerful notes in public places. Have them color, cut and create small note cards with messages such as “Have a nice day!” on them. Brainstorm about where you should leave them, then go out and place the cards where others will find them. It would also be fun to hide out and watch people smile as they read the notes.

Make cards or cookies and deliver them to your local nursing home. Ask the receptionist to give them to residents who do not get many visitors.

Pick flowers or vegetables out of your garden and leave them on your neighbor’s porch with a friendly note.

Go through the toy box and donate any toys that are no longer played with.

Visit the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation for more great ideas.

See Also:

Thank You Gifts They’ll Appreciate
Teaching Children How to Say Thank You