How can we do a better job of teaching kindness to our kids and one another?

Parents can teach their children through example (and explain their actions) that when someone does something nice for you, or helpful, that you return the favor by doing something similar in return for that person, or for someone else one day.

I remember a time where in a grocery store, a complete stranger did not have change for a shopping cart, and the line up to make change was long, so I gave her the quarter she needed, and asked her to pay it forward and help someone else she sees in that same situation. She was very grateful having two small kids with her. It is just a simple random act of kindness that can go a long way.

Find an elderly persons home in your neighborhood that needs their walkway shovelled. In our neighborhood, there was this very nice family man on the corner who use to shovel the elderly neighbours home that was between us, and then he branched out to our home, in return, I started to do the same. From that we became a team and helped each other, while helping our older neighbor.

Get rid of all the negative people and influences in your life, emotionally if not physically!!

It's true that charity begins at home, but when you don't come from that kind of beginning and kindness is something you learn from strangers, then how do you detach yourself and become that kind of person you want to be? Frankly you just start being what you want to become.

There's a saying that you can pick your friends but you can't pick your family so stop looking back and changing what you can't. Rather step out of that and create the type of world you want to live in.

Life is all about choices. Every choice you make has a profound effect on your life and the lives of those around you.

We are all capable of kindness, but it is a CHOICE.

When we can do that for ourselves then we can also teach our children the reasons why they should choose "kindness" even when it seems that no one is reciprocating this act.

Soon they will learn that what you give is what you receive, for the most part, and I truly believe that it is. In fact it's often much more.

We all know the power a smile can have on others, and an act of kindness. When you shine a light others have the power to see too, so go ahead and shine it, someone might be in dire need of it.

What a sad world when children stumble along blindly and have to be bullies to be seen and heard. It should not be that way. The outcomes can be tragic so there has to be ways of getting through to them long before they become cynical or jaded adults.

You know the parenting course is not a bad idea. In France (for those of you who saw M. Moore's film) they have government paid for NANNIES who come to the home of a new mother, twice weekly, and help her with learning to parent and learning to manage.

I know I sure could have used some support with child number one and it would have made life a lot less stressful. I was 33 with my first child. Imagine a single mom, a teen mom, the financial burdens, how unprepared someone so inexperienced would be. These all factor into the type of people our children turn into, and kindness would truly be helping out people like this. You can't expect someone so unprepared and naive to have the wisdom of one in retrospect.

Moms have nowhere near the support they need, and it's not fair to put all the onus on them either.

There is a cancer in society today that prevents the proper teaching of kindness, respect and other important values. Western governments have decided that morality based on economic factors is the true decider. Religious morals and traditional family values are being replaced by money-driven political correctness garbage. Parents are also increasingly having a harder time taking care of their children when the government forces both the father AND mother to work so that government has enough money to fill its coffers to have it needlessly wasted on the demands of special interest and lobby groups. It's disgusting......the government thinks its ok (and encourages) that children are sent to child care every day. Scientific studies show that children are more aggressive, less happy and more likely to have behavioral problems later on in life because they weren't able to spend enough time with parents. So it's no wonder less and less people are kind to each other.

They've turned political correctness into a religion and are basing that as the blueprint for a utopian society. It's time voters and parents band together and set the politicians straight. There is too much hypocrisy and it filters down to the family.

By giving them stricter discipline and spending more time with them. Teach them the manners their short of these days and respect for adults. If you want them to grow up and act like kind adults, then they must be around loving, kind adults. Kids learn best by example. On the other hand, there are those rotten kids with which no-one or nothing can help. It's just a fact of life. Some of the old school ways were not so bad. Today there is too much deadly violence in children. Whats with that?

When my daughter was young and in school , as she left the house everymorning for school , I always told her to make sure to do a kind deed for someone everyday. I often wonder if she followed through,but at least I was trying, then her teacher called me to say my daughter has won an award by the town committee for being one of the most helpful children in school and one of the youngest to ever recieve this award. Generally it would go to a high school student and here she was in grade 4. I can't tell you as her parents how proud we were of her. Today she's an adult and is one of the kindess people I know, she respects everyone , and even when she started to work at 15 , everyone always told me how kind my daughter was. So yes parents sometimes a little encouragement can go a very long way in life. Sorry if my answer was so long.

We can do things like make it possible for parents or a roll model to be at home for them for a start with.Second we can send very loud and clear messages to them when they do something selfless.I myself have created a group on face book to thank some of those kids called student support .I also let any kids I see doing good things know that they are doing good things. These kids are our future I don't want A bunch of people who do not care about the future running our world. Do you? Money is not the answer.What good does it do to be rich if we don't have air or good water quality and trees to filter the air. Why do we have to make cars faster and use more fossil fuels.What message does it send to put up more speed bumps in our streets and do nothing to those who choose to speed. Kindness is all ready in short supply yet we over give our kindness to those who do wrong continuously. The bottom line is it starts at home if you can be there. Just teach them that kindness has its own rewards.

I believe so many people think of kindness as doing something big or maybe even hard. But for me kindness starts the min. I open my eyes in the morning till I go to bed. I make a choice of how I will be towards myself and others each day. Kindness can be simple little pleasures like feeling good about yourself, giving a child or spouce, or friend a hug or kiss. Small acts of kindness goes a long way. For me just knowing that saying hello or having a short conversation with a stranger could change their day or how they see things, is showing kindness to the world and others. As a grandma I know that each day it is important to show love and kindness to all as all my children watch me. So just a smile or biting of my tongue is showing kindness.

I am not sure that we can.

I try to behave as a well balanced and caring Human Being in front of others.

However my two children react quite differently to the example.

My daughter grows constantly more introspective and is now becoming a target for bullies.

While my son considers me a loser and does anything to be different.

How can I teach him right from wrong when he is surrounded by rich and successful arrogant and ignorant posers getting all the things that make life comfortable while decent people are treated like dirt?

Help the homeless. Get them into volunteering. Teach them that Christmas is a way for people to spend money on businesses and things, not to celebrate what the true meaning is... Jesus Christ being born to save us from our sins. Let children give a child less fortunate their Christmas presents (adopt a child in another country, donate to Acts of Kindness Network, etc.) Volunteer at a shelter or a kitchen for the needy. Help them realize about money by getting them to pay for their own things, buy a homeless person a coffee, etc.

Definitely children can be taught kindness. Starting with the now mostly forgotten 'golden rule' (do unto others....).

But as someone else stated below, 'like father, like son'. To often children today see parents who cut others off in traffic, don't say thank-you to service staff, etc.

A personal experience just this past weekend. While at a grocery store my 6 year old accepted the treat from the lady handing out promo stuff. When I reminded him to say 'thank you' she looked at me and told me that very seldom do parents tell that to their children anymore.

Then they wonder why they 'get no respect' when the kids are older.