World Kindness Day – November 13th

World Kindness Day is an international holiday formed in 1998 to promote kindness throughout the world and is observed annually on November 13 as part of the World Kindness Movement. This day is observed in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia. The purpose of World Kindness Day is “to highlight good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness which binds us.”

1 in 4 children in our country will experience bullying at school regularly. Teaching kids to be kind to everyone, even if they’re different, and to stand up to bullying when they see it, turns them into brave, thoughtful, and kind adults.

1. Model Kindness

If you want to raise children who are kind and compassionate, start by modeling these skills yourself. Parents who respect others will naturally teach their children to do the same. Think about your daily interactions with others. How do you speak to the people you love?

As your child grows, she will watch how you treat others too. And there’s plenty you can do–from putting your phone down and smiling at a cashier to holding the door for a stranger. Opportunities for modeling kindness for our children happen all the time in everyday life.

2. Get Kids Involved in the Community
Caring about your community is a great way to instill kindness in our children. Help your child find a community project for them to participate. You can help your child organize a volunteer activity like a beach cleanup, raise money for worthy causes that help others, or collect food for a local pantry like Feeding South Florida. Any of these community-based activities can help children feel good about helping others and will help them grow up into kind adults.

3. Read books that teach kindness.
Another simple way we make sure you are raising kind kids is by providing them with books that encourage your kids to be the best versions of themselves. Look for books that teach, model, and praise kindness and that have main characters who are kind and treat others with respect and fairness.