Why Kindness Matters
Kindness is a powerful social and emotional skill to cultivate in children. To be kind means to have a sympathetic or helpful nature. This is deeper than niceness; it’s a genuine reflection of the heart.
Research also shows that performing acts of kindness benefit both the giver and the receiver. This makes kindness uniquely valuable.
For Christians, kindness is especially significant, as it is emphasized throughout the Bible. Ephesians 4:32 (NIV) instructs us to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
When kids learn and practice kindness, they naturally extend compassion to others, living as Jesus did.
Teaching Children to Show Kindness: 15 Ways
Hands-on projects and fun activities often go further than a lecture. Great activities for teaching kindness can include service projects, crafts or even games.
To help you teach the children around you about kindness, we’ve compiled a list of kindness ideas and activities for children of all ages.
6 Ways to Show Kindness at Home
Do something considerate for another member of the family.
Offer to do a sibling’s chore for them.
Spend time reading books with a sibling.
Clean part of the house without being asked.
Help a parent pull weeds in the yard.
Help a parent make a family or snack.
Leave kind notes around the home for family members to find.
Show kindness to animals.
Take a pet on a walk or spend extra time playing with a pet.
Offer to help care for a classroom pet at school.
Craft a pinecone and peanut butter birdfeeder to make sure God’s creatures have plenty to eat.
Welcome and care for visitors.
Offer house guests a drink of water, tea or coffee when they arrive.
If pets are present, ask if the guests are comfortable with them. If not, take the pets into another room.
Have a weekly family devotional or Bible study time.
As a family, choose a devotional book, online devotional or Bible study, then set a time to go through it together every week. You can also review examples of compassion, gratitude and helping others in the Bible.
Play a game.
Board games are a great way to teach patience and kindness. Play a board game together and use moments of frustration to teach the importance of playing well with others.
Get Raise, Save, Give—a free printable kindness game from Compassion.
Honor a family member for something they’re good at.
This gold medal craft is a great activity to help you acknowledge family members’ gifts.
4 Ways to Show Kindness at School
Celebrate World Kindness Day.
World Kindness Day is celebrated annually on November 13. It began in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of organizations dedicated to kindness.
Many countries around the world celebrate World Kindness Day, which promotes good deeds in the community and asks people to focus on what brings us all together, rather than what divides us.
To bring the spirit of World Kindness Day to the classroom, make a thank you card for a teacher or bring a snack for the whole class.
Make a kindness card or craft (like this one) for a good friend.
Consider and include others.
Invite classmates to play a game at recess. You could even introduce them to a game that kids in other countries play.
If a kid looks lonely or left out, invite him or her to eat lunch with you.
Look for opportunities to help someone.
Hold the door for someone.
If another kid drops something, help them pick it up.
If someone looks lost in the hallway, help that person find their way.
If you see a student being bullied, take their hand and lead them away from the people saying unkind things. Tell a trusted adult about the bullying.
5 Ways to Show Kindness to Neighbors
Help a neighbor with yard work, such as raking leaves, pulling weeds or carrying in the groceries.
Make and deliver a treat, such as cookies, banana bread or this Peruvian hot chocolate.
Tie balloons to a neighbor’s fence or mailbox to celebrate their birthday or leave a note with special birthday wishes.
Share Christmas joy by singing carols outside people’s homes at Christmastime.
Teach empathy for children living in poverty with the help of these poverty lesson plans and learning activities. Remember, neighbors aren’t only those who live next door to us.
5 Ways We Can All Show Kindness
Kindness isn’t just a lesson for children — it’s a practice that enriches all our lives, regardless of age. Here are practical ways each of us can live out kindness every day:
Let someone know you care and are thinking about them.
Call a relative you haven’t spoken to in a while.
Send a card to a friend.
If you sponsor a child, write a letter to the child you sponsor. You can get inspiration from these letter-writing prompts.
Challenge yourself to perform simple acts of kindness with an acts of kindness challenge planner.
Make summer count with a printable kindness calendar of service projects, science experiments, prayers, crafts and more.
Create artwork highlighting kindness quotes and post them around the home, at school or on a bulletin board in a library or local coffee shop as encouragement.
Follow Jesus’ example. Scripture reminds us:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12, NIV).
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2, NIV).
Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31, NIV).
Showing Kindness Through Child Sponsorship
Child sponsorship through Compassion International is one of the most meaningful ways to show kindness and help children break free from the cycle of poverty and hopelessness.
Through sponsorship, we work with thousands of local churches in impoverished areas around the world to give children the spiritual and practical care they need to leave poverty behind.
Sponsoring a child is an act of kindness and compassion that can make a lasting difference.
