Raising caring kids is one of the hardest things to do. Most children are naturally caring, but some need to be taught to use empathy, kindness and respect. Trauma aside, there are various ways you can ensure your children are kind to others, from the golden Rule to kindness.
Be the Example You Want to See
Pretty much all behaviour is learned. Children emulate what they see, whether it’s on the school playground, in class or at home. This is one of the main reasons why learning vicariously is so effective at a young age when children are impressionable. This can encourage bad behaviour. But fortunately, it can also be a massive positive influence. By acting in the way you want your children to behave, they will emulate, learn and understand how to behave towards others.
Raising Caring Kids with the Golden Rule
What is the Golden Rule of parenting? It is simply the old adage of treating others how you want to be treated. This is a common practice in society and one that can get us through even the toughest of situations. But it’s also a useful tool for teaching children about respect early on. Despite this, only around 14% of parents admitted that they teach their children about this. Even if it’s for dealing with a negative situation, staying calm and respectful is a valuable skill.
Taking Positive Actions
It’s all too easy to get frustrated when our children don’t act how we would expect. Punishment has its place but is used all too often as a fallback when we don’t know what to do. Common punishments are generally negative. However, turning towards positive actions when a situation arises can help your children learn how to deal with things in life. Rather than lashing out when things go wrong, it is better to assess a situation and ask what we could do better and learn.
Ask Yourself About Raising Caring Kids
Making sure your children are kind and considerate isn’t as easy as you might think. We can even be the reason through negative habits we do around the children. However, you can guide the kids by asking yourself some simple yet powerful questions along the way:
- Is my relationship with my children developing in a caring way?
- Am I setting high ethical standards and expectations in a positive manner?
- Are there plenty of opportunities for my kids to practise caring and gratitude?
- Are there positive influences in my child’s circle of friends and family?
- Is there more I can do to take an active role in my child’s behaviour toward others?
Sticking to a set list of questions and referring to them now and then, will help you focus on the end goals. If the answer is no, then assess a situation to see how you can deal with it better.
Teach About Facial Expressions
One of the earliest things we learned was to read facial expressions. However, this is a form of language, and like language, it must be taught. For example, it is common for us to teach that a smile means someone is happy or a frown is an upset face. Of course, facial expressions are much more complex. So, teaching children how to spot social cues from faces helps them understand what is happening. From there, they can extend respect, kindness and empathy.
Raising Caring Kids with Kindness
A simple act of kindness plays a crucial role in childhood development. Not all children are kind, and there are usually reasons for this. In fact, around 70% of children experience at least one trauma in life before they are 16. A child who has experienced little kindness finds it hard to be kind in return. This is also a process, and it can take a while to change this kind of behaviour. But like all learned behaviour, you can start by being an example and being kind to yourself.
Be Careful with External Media
Are our children now raised by the web? It’s a valid question and one that is more important than ever. With so much screen time and easy access to external media, who is really teaching the children? Young minds are extremely impressionable, and the thoughts and opinions of others are drilled into their tiny heads from a very young age. It helps to be proactive with what your kids watch. Social media platforms like TikTok may not be the best entertainment for kids!
Summary
Being an example of respect and kindness contributes to raising caring kids. Asking some important questions along the way will help keep you on the right path. Limiting screen time and what their kids watch online will steer them away from negative influences from online platforms.
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