20 ways to teach your child kindness

Pay it forward– how?

Paying it forward is just another way to live the Golden Rule-do to others as you would have them do to you. But oh, what a valuable life-lesson it is (no matter how you say it).

Teaching your children to be kind, compassionate and humble is to give the world the gift of kind, compassionate, humble adults to take us into the future. The following is a list of kindnesses every parent should teach their child to offer to others. NOTE: The only real way to teach these kindnesses, remember, is to do them yourself.

Some examples to pay it forward in kindness:

1. Take turns. No one needs to go first all the time.
2. Say please and thank-you. Good manners are a form of kindness are never out of place and never go out of style.
3. Lose graciously. Knowing how to lose is more important than knowing how to win. Every child needs to lose sometimes so someone else can win.
4. Make newcomers feel welcome. Teach your children to ask the new kid to sit with them at lunch and play with them at recess. Everyone deserves a chance.
5. Take a stand against bullying. Teach your children to never participate in bullying another child.
6. Share.
7. Paying compliments is a form of kindness. If their friend has a great pair of shoes, they should tell them. Everyone likes to be complimented.
8. Be respectful of those in authority. Ask any teacher and they would rather have a room full of respectful, well-behaved students than a room full of pretentious, selfish geniuses.
9. Do not be prejudiced. Teach your children to make their decisions about people based on their character-not on their color or ethnic background.
10. Give to those in need. But when they do, they need to give from their best-not from the leftovers or cast-offs.
11. Give of themself. Children need to volunteer their time to help those in need or for a worthy cause.
12. Take care of the environment by not littering or picking up litter.
13. Be kind to animals. Never allow your child to mistreat an animal.
14. Humility. Instill the desire to be kind and compassionate with no strings attached. In other words, help your children become these things rather than merely do these things for recognition or payback.
15. Say ‘I’m sorry’. Children need to know how important it is to take responsibility for their wrong-doing.
16. Be forgiving. Holding a grudge is never the thing to do.
17. Smiling is a contagious form of kindness and should be passed around whenever possible. And what better place to start than with your child?
18. Don’t call names. Teasing and name-calling get out of hand so quickly. Avoiding these actions is the kindest way to be.
19. Lend a hand. Helping parents, siblings, neighbors and older family members without being asked is a generous act of kindness. Once again pay it forward!
20. Express your love for those you love. Teach your children the value of saying ‘I love you’.

 Go ahead and list more ways of how to show your kindness and how to pay it forward.