As a parent, you are always thinking about ways to make your child a better person. Building personality traits like kindness and generosity in your children are a good start.

However, does kindness to others really help your child become more well-rounded? Kindness has many benefits, some of which are, increased feelings of self-worth, a feeling of calmness, reduced depression, creates emotional warmth, and more.

All of these benefits will go a long way toward the development of your child, not to mention that other children and adults will like them too. Check out these ways you can cultivate an environment of kindness in your family life.

Different Ways to Show Kindness

There are many ways to show kindness to others, some of them easier than others. Your child might express kindness differently than you.

For example, a child would be able to go up to a stranger and offer them a flower or a smile, whereas as an adult, you might find it difficult to go up to strangers, unless it was to help with a bag, or opening a door.

A child also is capable of displaying much more exuberance and has fewer inhibitions than an adult might. This means that all you would need to do is show them why kindness is important, and they would be able to start soon after that.

Kindness, in its essence, means being nice to someone else, without wanting anything in return.

It’s easy to explain to a toddler  when they offer their beloved toy to their friend, they are doing it for the good feelings that it inculcates, not because they want their friend to do the same back to them.

Showing Kindness to Others in Front of Your Child

One of the ways you can start bringing more of an environment of kindness in your family life is by displaying random acts of kindness when your child is present with you.

If you can open the door for someone, or give compliments to a stranger in an elevator, if you can help someone with their bags up to their car, or pick something up for someone that they dropped, your child will observe all this.

When your child asks you why you are being nice to someone you don’t know, it’s a great teaching moment. You can explain to them that kindness to others is the best medicine out there.

That way you can start building a kindness habit in yourself and your child. Remember, kindness is good not only for your child to learn, but for you as well.

Kindness to Others Starts with Small Random Acts

You don’t need to go big or go home with kindness. In fact, the smallest acts of kindness matter the most to people.

People will remember you and your child more for the little things you did, rather than the big ones. Start with kindness to others in little everyday ways and go from there.

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