Fun Activities for Raising Kind Kids

One of the lists of characteristics God wants Christians to have is often referred to as the Fruit of the Spirit. Within that list is the word kindness. Kindness is also mentioned as part of the definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13. In fact, the word kindness or some variation of it is mentioned over forty times in the Bible.

In a world where kindness is increasingly rare, when your children are kind, they will stand out from the world – in a good way. God knows that standing out in good ways from our culture can draw people to Him. Additionally, God expects us to reflect His love to others and kindness is a great way to do that. Since kindness is not the norm, however, you will have to be intentional to teach your kids how to be kind. Thankfully, there are some fun things you can do to make kindness a habit they want to keep in their lives.

Here are a few of our favorites.

  • Secret acts of kindness. Kids – especially young ones – love the idea of doing something in secret. They will love the idea of seeing how many kind things they can do for others without getting caught. These kind acts don’t even have to cost money. Something simple like moving someone’s newspaper from the street to their door in cold weather can make someone’s day. Doing things in secret also reinforces the scripture about not trumpeting your good deeds to everyone. (Matthew 6:3)
  • Doing the little things. What if your kids held open the door for everyone who was going into or out of a building for a period of time? Or picked up trash in a park (use safety precautions)? What if they offered to wash dirty dishes or stack chairs after an event at church? Or neatened up a messy display in a store? Those things mean extra effort or work for someone. Having a little extra help that is offered without asking is a true act of kindness. It may not seem as fun on the surface, but you can make it fun by telling your kids to notice the reactions they get. Sharing them later can be a lot of fun!
  • Hosting a manners party for younger kids. Encourage your kids to be creative as they plan the event. Have attendees dress in costumes, provide fun “high tea” type snacks. When your kids teach younger kids manners, they will be reminding themselves of how they should behave and why manners are such an important part of kindness.
  • A week/month without. A part of kindness is noticing the needs of others and putting them ahead of your own. (Philippians 2:3-4) Challenge your kids to think of things they could go without for a week. Make it fun, but truly challenging. Sometimes, you may want to focus on excess rather than entire deprivation. For example, your kids can’t run around nude all week, but they can limit themselves to four or five articles of clothing rather than their normal twenty totally unique outfits a week. One family limited themselves to eating meals created only from items already in their home! At the end of each week, discuss how much is too much and how your family can better live out those verses in Philippians.
  • “Adopt” someone who is lonely. You can choose one person as a family or each family member can choose someone different to “adopt”. Discuss ways the person needs kindness in his or her life. You can let the person know who you are as you do these kind things or keep it a secret. Since this is an “adoption” try to be consistent in your kind acts for a long period of time – preferably six months to a year. This can be a lot of fun, but it can also teach your kids that sometimes kindness takes effort and needs to continue for a lifetime – not just done once in awhile.

Have fun with it. The more you do some of these things with your kids, the more likely it is that kindness will become a permanent part of their character.

Published by

Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking.

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