Inside: Here are 9 reasons why you should teach your kids to be kind to help reassure us that it’s worth the effort and energy and time.
Life is crazy busy as a parent.
We have to teach our kids everything…from picking up their shoes so we don’t trip again, to using their manners, to how to use a knife safely.
We have to teach them how to interact with their siblings without screaming, and how to manage their big emotions, and to not tattle on their friends and siblings.
We all know that teaching our kids a new skill or how to behave in ways that line up with our family values can’t be a one-and-done conversation.
It takes time. It takes practice. It takes patience.
And we also know that teaching kids to do something like loading the dishwasher takes way longer than if you just did it yourself. But we also know that when we take the time to teach our kids how to do something, they will become more independent, more helpful around the house, which will eventually save us time and energy and stress.
But since these things take so much of our limited time, we have to decide: Is it worth it?
Is it worth my time and energy and stress to make sure my kids know how to be kind? To focus on generosity and compassion? To make sure they know how and when to help others?
Hint: yes, it’s totally worth it.
But here are 9 reasons why we should raise our kids to be kind so when it feels hard we can remind ourselves why we’re doing it.
Why You Should Teach Your Kids to Be Kind:
I have made certain assumptions while helping parents and educators raise and teach kind kids, one being that I assumed others felt kindness necessary and worthwhile.
But on those hard, tiring days, knowing the why behind why we’re spending so much time and energy on raising kind kids can refocus us and remind us that it is worth every ounce of our time and energy.
So in case you’ve ever asked yourself: ‘Why should I teach my kids to be kind?‘, here are just a few reasons:
1. More Independence
Teaching kindness creates independent kids so you won’t need to referee their fights and sibling issues as often.
When our kids have the skills and tools they need to stand up for themselves and deal with siblings and peers and friends in positive ways, there are fewer fights.
And when there are disagreements or clashes, our kids won’t need to come running to us for help or to referee or pick sides.
They’ll know they have several options to deal with the situation because you will have practiced and taught them what to say and how to say it.
2. Increased Confidence
Teaching kindness instills confidence in kids to stand up for themselves and others in a kind way.
When they know how to deal with unkind kids and how to handle themselves in tricky social situations, they’ll gain confidence and feel empowered to act or react in a way that best suits the situation and their personality.
3. Better Mental Health
Teaching kindness improves their mental health since they will live in a home with less bickering and fighting.
When we are around constant negativity and bickering and fighting can wear on our emotional well-being and overall sense of safety.
But, if we focus on kindness in our home, there will be less fighting and bickering, and nastiness, which will improve everyone’s mental health.
4. Calmer Home
Teaching kindness will make your home will be more peaceful where you and your kids all want to be.
Our homes will become safe, warm, comforting places our families enjoy being together.
5. Helpful Kids
Teaching kindness encourages kids to be more helpful around the house.
When we teach our kids to be helpers and be more helpful, we will do less work because when our kids know how to help their younger siblings or help with chores or offer to help you in any way, that makes our lives easier.
Related: How to Raise Kids to be Helpers
6. Happier Kids
Kind kids are happier kids and happier kids are more pleasant and enjoyable to be around.
Research has proven it: kindness releases dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, three of the four “happy drugs.”
And when we associate speaking and acting with kindness with feelings of happiness, our kids will want to be happy more often because the happy drugs are “addicting.”
This will in turn make kindness more of a habit and more kindness leads to more happiness.
Related: Craft: Happy Kids, Happy Heart
7. Emotionally Intelligent Kids
Teaching kindness builds up their emotional intelligence so they can deal with their emotions in healthy ways and have fewer explosions with big emotions.
When we talk about emotions and feelings and teach our kids how to be mad without being mean or retaliating, we set them up for success and allow them to have their feelings and emotions without needing to explode.
8. Kids Who Can Handle Peer Pressure
Teaching kindness gives kids the skills to interact with peers in positive ways and deal with peer pressure.
They’ll know how to stand up to bullies and friends who pressure them to do what they know is unsafe or unkind.
They’ll know how to walk away from “friends” who don’t treat them well and how to find real, true good friends who don’t use negative peer pressure.
9. Improves Your Community
Teaching kindness improves our community around us because our kids will be speaking and acting with kindness to those around them.
Kindness truly can change the world. It may not change the whole world, but it can change our mini worlds: our school, our homes, our neighborhood, our teams.
And kindness is contagious, so when our kids are kind, it will encourage their classmates, friends, and schoolmates act with kindness as well.
But these are just a few of the reasons to raise kind kids. What would you add?