Can Kindness Make You Happier?
Kindness can boost happiness, resilience, and the immune system.
Kindness is being friendly, generous, and considerate. Small acts of kindness have a powerful impact on others. Science demonstrates that completing kind acts, even if it’s as simple as smiling at a friend, can boost happiness. This means being kind is contagious, when your child does a kind act for someone it leads to them doing another kind act. Research indicates random acts of kindness can lift your child’s mood, reduce stress, and build the immune system.
Our first rule in aerial yoga classes is to be kind. We teach kids to not only be kind to others, but to the environment, and to themselves. Cultivating kindness helps your child develop social and emotional skills, confidence, and resilience. When a child becomes more aware of their own kind behavior it improves their overall well-being.
Three Ways to Teach Kindness to Children:
- Read About It. There are several books that teach kindness to young children and stories are a great way for children to learn social emotional skills. “Have you Filled a Bucket Today” is a story that demonstrates how kindness can fill buckets and make others feel good.
- Sign-Up for a Random Acts of Kindness Challenge. Scientists have shown that doing random acts of kindness for two minutes a day can train your brain to be more positive. Kindness challenges can be downloaded for free online.
- Kindness Coins. Kindness coins can be purchased inexpensively online. Kindness coins help children build compassion and empathy. They also reinforce positive behavior and kids love them!
Kindness Takes Practice
Kindness, takes practice, which is why we make it a rule. Being kind can be taught in the home, classroom or even during an aerial yoga class. it can be simple and only take a few minutes, but it is important to build it into your child’s day.
References