Last week the Style Me Bloggers wrote about Random Acts of Kindness, and I shared one of the things I do quietly and anonymously to show kindness to members of our military.
One of the commenters on that post mentioned wanting to help their daughter practice random acts of kindness. It got me thinking - have I been so quiet and anonymous with my acts that I've missed teaching my own kids?
I've had this quote framed in my bedroom since C and T were little, and I look at it every day. It is so important to me that my boys grow into men with kind, beautiful hearts.
Children, especially teenagers, are prone to think only about themselves. They are really good at receiving kindness from the adults in their lives. It's up to us to teach them to become more mindful about doing their own acts of kindness - not for their personal gain, but to help them grow those beautiful hearts.
I came up with some ideas for teenagers to practice random acts of kindness. I would love to hear other suggestions in the comments.
- Shovel an elderly neighbor's driveway when it snows, or bring their garbage out to the curb on collection day
- Call your grandmother just to say hello
- Donate your old cell phones. Log onto Cell Phones For Soldiers to see all the ways to help
- Say good morning to your teachers, administrators, and bus drivers
- Invite a kid who is being picked on to have lunch with you
- Offer to walk your neighbor's dog or mow their lawn - for free
- Hold the door for someone
- Donate a tweet at Justcoz. org
- Drop off old books to a children's hospital
- Hug your mother
I'll be sharing all of these with my boys. Especially that last one.
Oh Lana... I loved these, my Valentina does a few of these; however; she is just almost 12... I hope she keeps them up as she grows into the teen stage. Our church practices these and the organize activities like these for the teens... I hope she feels this in the heart ♡
ReplyDeleteWith such a great mom, she will grow up with a beautiful heart!
DeleteThese are all great ideas! My daughter's school gives Character Counts cards out when a teacher notices someone being kind to another student or helping someone out!
ReplyDeleteJill
Doused In Pink
That's a great idea!
DeleteGreat ideas, and yes we should be teaching our kids random acts of kindness. Will have to start doing that with my kids :) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah!
Deleteif anybody is going to help guide me to raise my kids to be great teenagers, it's going to be you. I love your parenting style. FYI
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet. I think maybe I got lucky with the kids I got though - they're pretty great on their own.
DeleteI think these are such great ideas! And I've loved reading about your Random Acts :)
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so glad you stopped by today.
DeleteSo sweet! I love it when parents recognize the need for these kinds of activities, so important.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol. So important to show our kids at any age.
DeleteWe have elderly neighbors on all sides and I always think about shoveling for them! Generally our neighbor plows for them because we all have crazy long driveways but it's such a nice thought.
ReplyDeleteI agree. We haven't had a single flake of snow to shovel this year!
DeleteWhat a lovely quote to frame - and I love all of your suggestions.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan!
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