One Thing I Have Learned….

About Kids and Kindness

“The most important classroom of kindness is the home. What are we REALLY teaching our children by our words, actions, and reactions to the world in the privacy of our own homes?”

– JB Organizing

“The lesson of kindness is better learned by example than by lecture. Let’s show our children how to be kind today.”

– JB Organizing

My heart breaks at how unkind so many people are in our world today.

It made me think……. What are kind of example are we setting for our children? I am talking about in our homes, at our dinner tables, on the phone with our friends, in the car with our kids, in front of the TV….….As adults, are we saying kind things in these situations too or are we just saying the “politically correct” things in public and being unkind at home?

It hit me anew that we all might need to be more aware of how we react to people, stories, pictures, shows, phone calls, experiences…. while “just” with our family and close circles of friends. We must remember that our kids are watching and hearing everything. What we say in “privacy” of our home and in the “security” of our family and close friends, will forever have a much more powerful influence on how our children treat others, than the words we use in public.

If our children see incongruity between the actions and words used in “private” and the actions and words used in “public”, they WILL defer to those used in “private”. Children are smart and they can tell which actions come from authenticity and which are for show. They WILL mimic those that are authentic. Let’s face it, we are ALL our most “real” versions of ourselves in the privacy of our homes.

What are we really SHOWING and TEACHING our children by the words and actions we use at home? Are we SHOWING them how to be kind to others by our words, actions and reactions in private or just saying the “right” things in public?

The challenge for all of us, is to examine the REAL lessons we are teaching our children at home by the very REAL words and actions we are choosing each day in our “private” and “personal” interactions and reactions with the world around us. Let’s all work to exemplify kindness in the most important classroom in the world…..Our Homes!