What is kindness? What does it mean to be kind to others?
Do you know what it says in the dictionary about kindness? The state or quality of being kind.
What does being kind mean then? Being considerate, helpful, or benevolent.
What does benevolent mean? Desiring to help.
The easiest kid-friendly version of kindness, then: helping someone else.
I love Jane Austen. Do you?? My takeaway from what she’s saying here: no friendships can duplicate what you’ve got with your very first friends- your siblings. As moms, we want our kids to be besties for life, right?
Is there anything we can do to help that along? Maybe at least help them be nice to each other for pete’s sake?! YES! We can totally teach them kindness and encourage that kindness!
Built-in Friends: That’s what we all thought having more than one child would be like, right? A built-in friend right here at home? Is that your reality? Maybe sometimes.
As the days of “Stay at Home” or quarantine drag on, sibling kindness becomes rarer and MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER!
So how can we help our kids be nice to each other? Can we teach and encourage kindness? YES!
Ways to Encourage Sibling Kindness
- Use behavior-specific praise to tell your kids whenever you see them being kind. Tell them what they did that was kind and how it made you and their sibling feel. “Thank you for being so kind. That makes us feel really loved.”
- Talk about kindness. Help your kids come up with ways to show kindness to each other. Talk about times when people have been kind to you and how it made you feel. Talk about times when you have showed kindness to others and how it made them feel and how it made you feel.
- Set up activities for your kids to do together to build teamwork. Puzzles, board games, lego challenge, build a fort, do a craft together, etc.
- Read picture books about siblings that get along and have fun together.
- Use a positive reinforcement system that has your kids working towards a common goal. Example: when either of you are kind, you get a sticker. When the chart is full, you get to choose a reward together.
Join us as we start a kindness revolution- in our own home!
I’ll take the guesswork out of how exactly to teach and promote sibling kindness in our 5 day challenge!
5 Days to Sibling Kindness. Yes, even now.
From August 10-15, learn practical tips & strategies to help your kids be nice to each other.
Yes, really nice!
Via email and a private Facebook group, learn behavior tools and then apply them immediately in your home! Get resources, printables, and fun bonuses along the way.
A challenge is not all about learning- it’s about doing and seeing real results!
Let’s start a kindness revolution together!
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