Children don’t know what to adopt and how to act with what they have around. Their initial years are surrounded by parents and what they bring in for them, how they act around them and whom they expose them to.

Kindness is one virtue that every parent expects to be a part of her/his child’s life. Every parent wishes his child to be generous and considerate in the way she or he acts. However, parents need to understand that they play a vital role in making this virtue a part of their children’s lives in comparison to any other external factor. First, they need to help the children understand their feelings and then let them understand things that form their surroundings. Children adopt values from their parents in the formative years.

Children are naturally optimistic as they don’t have any reasons to find out negatives unless they observe such behaviours in their surroundings. As they say, home is the first school of every child and it is the place where the child learns everything. The kind acts and the right behaviour flow from the parents to their children.

The children make the tone and language used at home their soundtrack. So why not fill this track with all the kind words and acts? Let’s have a look at some ways that can help parents to raise a kind child.

• Express kindness in the language you use. Say words that you wish to hear from your children. Ensure that you are polite to your little ones.
• Make them act right and be generous through small things like holding a door for someone, giving food to a needy, offering help to people in house and around, be caring towards family and friends, sharing things with others and being polite.
• Always ensure not to be harsh on children or be rude to them. Make them understand the wrongs they do in a very polite manner.
• Set an example of kindness and respect by treating other people properly and talking good about them.
• Immediately correct the unkind and disrespectful behaviour practised by the children by making them realise its effects.
• Make the children responsible in things they do from the earliest years.
• Help them to empathise with others and act compassionately. Make them understand that they should treat others exactly the way they would like to be treated.
• Inspire their imagination and thought process. Encourage them to handle things, toys and people with care.
• Make the children understand the importance of qualities like sharing, giving, volunteering, supporting, listening and observing as they help them to develop positivity and optimism.
• Make the children understand how it feels to be kind and the kind of response they get from others when they are kind.
• Be very thoughtful while instructing children. Make them understand the consequences of things you don’t want them to do. Don’t try to control their behaviour.
• Apologize to the children when you have unwillingly said something or done something you didn’t mean. Make them understand the importance of saying sorry when you have done something you didn’t want to.
• Don’t stress about winning every time. Instead encourage children to participate, cooperate and give their hundred percent in all that they do.
• Encourage children to lift up others and discourage them from participating in bullying or gossiping.
• Teach them good manners and ensure they greet everyone properly and are polite to them.
• Teach the children to be thankful and grateful about everything others do for them. Teach them to be grateful about everything they have.
• Avoid setting competition in the family between siblings. Instead encourage them to work together and praise them for all the efforts they put in.
• Be patient with the little ones in order to raise wonderful and tolerant humans.

Parenting done right is reflected in a grown up child. To instil values in children, the parents need to practise values in every word, in every act. As a parent, I try to follow all the positive ways in which I can instil kindness in my child for I know kindness will help her radiating the surroundings with all the positivity, love and optimism. For each one of us as a parent, our foremost duty is to be kind and spread kindness.