Random Acts of Kindness Day

Did you know February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day? While kindness is important every day of the year, Random Acts of Kindness Day is a great time to check in with ourselves and make sure we’re doing our part to make the world a kinder, more compassionate place.

Celebrating this special “holiday” also offers an opportunity to remind your children of the importance of kindness in their daily lives. After all, kindness is a social skill that must be taught, nurtured, and practiced regularly. Recognizing Random Acts of Kindness Day is an excellent tool for teaching and encouraging kindness in children.

Read on for some ideas for discussing kindness with your children and incorporating acts of kindness into their day-to-day routine.

Begin with a Kindness Refresher

Kindness and generosity don’t always come naturally, and that’s okay. What’s key is to teach children about the importance of kindness from a young age so they can understand the effects their actions have on others.

You can start this conversation by asking your child what they think it means to be kind. Kindness can take many different forms, and it’s a good idea to take a moment to highlight kind actions both big and small. Whether by treating someone fairly or doing our part to clean up our environment, there are lots of ways to be kind. In fact, we can even show kindness to ourselves.

Brainstorm Acts of Kindness

Next, encourage your children to brainstorm a list of kind acts on their own. You can design this as a group activity, or make it a challenge for each child to see who can write the longest list in a set period of time. When the challenge is over, they can select the examples they feel they would most appreciate and illustrate them on a poster or bulletin board. 

These could be simple actions, like writing a thank you note or giving a pat on the back for a job well done. Or, they could be more abstract, such as listening to someone who needs to be heard.

Keep the Kindness Going All Month Long

One great activity to help make kindness a daily habit is to create a Kindness Calendar. On each day of the month, list a simple activity your children can do to help someone out. Every evening, they can put a sticker on that day’s square to signify their completion of the task. The goal is to see if they can keep the chain of kindness going all month long!

Here are some fun and simple acts of kindness to include on the Kindness Calendar:

• Let someone else go ahead of you in line
• Say something nice to someone who needs to hear it
• Invite someone to join you in a game or conversation
• Give a high five or thumbs up after a job well done
• Hold the door open for someone
• Write a list of things you appreciate about yourself
• Set a good example for your peers
• Write a thank you note or kind message to someone
• Ask someone “How are you?” and follow up with conversation
• Do a chore that’s not already on your chores list
• Give someone a helping hand
• Pick up and throw away litter
• Let someone else choose the TV show, music, game, or snack
• Give a compliment to someone outside of your friend group

Surround Yourself with Kindness

Another activity you can do to help keep kindness top of mind long after Random Acts of Kindness Day is over is to pin up kind sayings and quotes around the house. Children will love having the chance to create fun and colorful messages that can be placed anywhere and everywhere for a positive reminder when it’s least expected.

For example:

• Write “You’re beautiful – inside and out” on the mirror with washable dry-erase markers or crayons.
• Place a Post-It note that says “We never know what someone is going through” next to the phone.
• Spell “Just be kind” on the refrigerator with alphabet magnets.
• Hang a small chalkboard or whiteboard up and write an inspiring message each day

It’s not always easy to be kind, but it always feels good when someone is kind to us. Taking this moment to help your children understand the importance of kindness can help them build crucial social skills and positive habits that will not only affect their own outlook on life, but will also create an example for those around them.

 How will you celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17th?