Rule 3: Do an act of kindness for them every day
Help your child come up with something nice to do for their person every day. I remember when two of my boys were struggling in their relationship, I worked with them to stop and think how they could make each other’s day. Some days it looked like us sneaking into their room and secretly making their bed. Other times we would be at the grocery store and I’d ask one of them for their brother’s favorite snack. “Let’s make their day!” I’d say. You’d be surprised how fun it can be when you’re actively searching for ways to be kind to someone else – even someone who is often difficult to get along with.
The Kindness Challenge encourages participants to do these three steps over the course of thirty days to see what happens with the relationship. So often, people are shocked by how much their prickly relationships improve (I can vouch for it – I’ve done it myself!) Their interactions with their person become more positive and how they feel about their person improves. Kindness changes us … and a lot of times, it changes others.
So let’s be intentional as we prepare our kids for their upcoming school year. Of course that means the folders and pens and the impossible-to-find notebooks. But it also means practicing the skills they need to show kindness to others who may be a little difficult. When our kids practice at home, not only will the family dynamic improve, but they’ll be gaining valuable experience in being a true light as they get ready to head off to school in the fall.
Their kindness will make a real difference – and I think we’d all agree, we need a little more of that in our homes and in the world.
Oh, and of course, in the school supply aisle at Target.
Katie Kenny Phillips is a children’s author and screenwriter and has spent the last decade as a freelance writer and editor, most notably with bestselling author/speaker Shaunti Feldhahn. She works with Director and Producer Shari Rigby and her ministry, The Women In My World, and focuses on serving women of faith in entertainment and media.
Katie lives in Atlanta and is a mom of five (three biological and two by way of foster care and adoption). Her most recent children’s book, Today I Feel Like a Jelly Donut: A Book About Emotions is available on Amazon.
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