Family Acts of Kindness
Sometimes it's easy to get wrapped up in our own little world and forget about how going out of our way to show kindness is so important. I think it's especially important when you have kids looking up to you—the whole "leading by example" thing. I also think we can all agree that the whole world needs a little extra kindness right now <3
I wanted to put together a list of ideas to get the creative kindness juices going and to really go out of my way this month to be a more giving person. I'm hoping this leads our family to get in more of the habit of doing random acts of kindness throughout the year!
I figured I'd share our list of ideas with you in case you'd like to follow along! Within each idea I've given an example for how you can get your child involved.
Feel free to come up with your own ideas, too and share them in the comments!
I've also included a PDF at the bottom so you can print it and have it handy. Hang it somewhere thats visible to the whole family.
Everyday: smile at everyone, say "hi" to those you pass by, hold open doors/elevators, give genuine compliments, walk/bike/etc. instead of driving when possible, give up your seat for pregnant women and elderly, shop small and/or local, thank your family members for the big and small tasks they do for you...
- leave a note and gift card to a coffee shop in your mailbox for your mailperson. The note can say something like "keep cool! thanks for delivering our mail!" (this is something my mom does and I LOVE the idea) // Have your child write the note or do a drawing on it.
- give flowers to your grocery store checkout person. You can just buy flowers right in the store! If it's a guy and he doesn't want the flowers, suggest that he give it to a special woman in his life. // Have your child hand it to him/her if possible.
- prepare a meal for someone and either drop it off for them or invite them to come enjoy it with you. // Have your child help prepare the meal and accompany you to drop it off (or be present to share the meal)
- go to your local beach, park or public area and clean up trash // Have your child join. Depending on their age they may want to just run around and enjoy the beach/park, but they will witness what your doing and it will be a great example to them. And obviously be mindful of what they're picking up!
- write a genuine, heartfelt letter to each family member about what they mean to you, what you're proud of and how thankful you are for the things they do. // If the kids are too young, tell them aloud how grateful you are for them. I'm a big believer in children picking up on positive words being said to them.
- purchase or donate gently used books to Books for Africa. The easiest way might be to purchase and send them directly through Amazon. // Get your child involved in picking out the books and explain to them how there are other kids around the world who don't have easy access to books.
- plant a tree for someone through a site such as the the Arbor Day Foundation or physically plant a tree in your yard or elsewhere. // Kids can help with the planting!
- make a card for hospitalized children. This is a great one to get the kids involved in. (Be sure to read the instructions of things to write and NOT to write in the cards.) // You can write out the message and have your child color/draw on it depending on their age
- do a chore for someone else in the family (something that they usually take care of) // Siblings can do each other's chores or team up and do one of their parent's duties
- donate to help a current disaster relief effort or cause. Right now, Texas really needs our help in the wake of the hurricane. Here is a great list of ways we can help. // Explain to your child how your donation will help others (without getting too deep/heavy).