It takes repetition for things to sink in with kids, so a good way to build kindness in kids is to encourage it often. Try creating a kindness calendar. Pick a week and have the child choose one kind thing to do each day of the week. Have him write or even draw a picture of his plan on the calendar. At the end of each day, he can mark off that he completed his kind activity. Be sure to ask him questions like, “How did you feel when you were doing it?” “How do you think the other person felt?”

It can be hard to think of kind acts! Here are a few ideas, and there are tons of resources online if you get stuck. You’ll want to make sure that whatever you choose is appropriate for the age of the child. Older children can do things like serve meals at a homeless shelter, and younger kids might be better doing smaller things around the house, like setting the table for dinner, or cleaning their room without being asked.

• Drop old blankets off at a dog shelter
• Plug an expired parking meter
• Send a thank you card to someone (like the school janitor, the bus driver, or the lunch lady)
• Invite someone new to play with you at school
• Give someone a compliment

If you do acts of kindness with kids, we would love to hear about them! Share your kind acts in the comments!