Fern Michonski / Fern’s Music
Pre-School Music Education Expert: The Children’s Advocate for Love and Kindness, Inspiring Creativity and Joy.
April 30, 2014—Inspiring Kindness & Generosity in our Children 
From the moment our children are born we want the best for them. We purchase the best toys, books and clothing. We research the best preschools, schools, etc., trying to provide excellent opportunities for them. All of this is fine, but I think it is important to inspire our children to help others at an early age. If parents begin teaching kindness and generosity during their early years, this thoughtfulness will continue throughout their lives, making our world a better place to live and making our children better people.
I teach piano to children. Rather than having a recital once a year, I provide my students with the opportunity to perform for the seniors at a local nursing home once a month. The first time we did it some of the kids were very nervous. However, it has become one of their favorite things to do. I do not require this of my students. Instead, I simply encourage them to do it. I explain how much the seniors enjoy it. Now, several of them volunteer every month because they love the experience.
Here are a few other ideas parents could incorporate into their children’s lives to encourage kindness & generosity:
- Bake cookies with your children and then deliver them to the local soup kitchen.
- Go through your children’s clothing with them and encourage them to donate the things they have outgrown to local consignment shops to help other kids.
- During the various holidays throughout the year, do art projects with your children making pretty cards, etc. Then bring them to local nursing homes, hospitals, etc. to be delivered to the patients.
- As they outgrow them, go through your children’s toys together and donate them to local charities.
If we give it some serious thought, there are many ways we can encourage our children to be considerate of others. A few acts of kindness can go a long way in spreading positive energy so we can promote understanding as opposed to bullying.