Teaching Kids to Be Kind: A Guide to Raising Compassionate and Caring Children

by Rachel Tomlinson, Justin Coulson PhD (Foreword by)

Overview

A simple and sweet parenting book with 365 tips—a new one to try every day!

As a parent, you want the best for your child, and one of your greatest hopes is that your child will grow up to be a good person. So, what makes a good person? Generally, we think about good people as being kind: those who are compassionate, empathetic, generous. However, it seems that, in our fast-paced, individual-driven society, kindness is fading and the pressure on parents to raise socially conscious, empathetic, and caring children can seem overwhelming at times.

In Teaching Kids to Be Kind, Rachel Tomlinson draws from her professional experiences to provide 365 inspiring strategies to help children and families practice kindness every day of the year. Daily tips include:

• Taking your child shopping around the holidays to select a new toy to donate to another little boy or girl their age.
• Leaving little notes in their lunch box or school bag for them to find. This models unconditional love and consideration for others.
• Baking a cake together to teach patience and teamwork and build on their ability to delay gratification.

An essential tool for parents, Teaching Kids to Be Kind will help children develop empathy, regulate their emotions, and improve their general well-being as well as support families in strengthening their overall relationships.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510747029
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	01/21/2020
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	1,018,381
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Rachel Tomlinson is a registered psychologist who has worked with adults, families, and children (birth through eighteen years old) in a variety of settings. She has presented at national conferences on mental health topics (including trauma and play therapy) as well as guest lectured about domestic violence and relationships at colleges and universities. She also serves as a subject matter expert for journalists on topics such as parenting, child development, and relationships. She resides in Perth, Australia.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword Dr. Justin Coulson xiii

Introduction xvi

Why Is Being a Good Person So Important? xviii

How Do We Nurture and Develop Long-Lasting Habits of Kindness in Our Children? xix

What are Other Challenges to Your Child's Natural, Altruistic Qualities? xxi

Who Might Use this Book and How it Can Help Your Child Learn to Be Kind xxiii

Chapter 1 Modeling 1

Walk the Walk 1

What Does Kindness Feel Like? 3

What Does Kindness Look Like? 5

Boundaries and Rules 7

Family Rules 8

Forgiveness 10

Don't Forget! Be Kind to Yourself 11

Chapter 2 Tips for Modeling 15

Chapter 3 Language 33

Talk the Talk 33

How You Talk to Your Child 36

The Power of Words 38

Manners 39

Is Honesty Always the Best Policy? 40

Agree to Disagree! 43

How We Talk about Others 46

Teaching Positive Self-Talk 47

Chapter 4 Tips for Language 51

Chapter 5 Managing Destructive Feelings 73

Emotional Intelligence 74

So How Does Emotional Intelligence Make People Kind? 75

Diagnosing Emotions 78

Expressing Emotions in a Healthy Way 80

Delaying Gratification 82

Self-Regulation 84

Chapter 6 Tips for Managing Destructive Feelings 89

Chapter 7 Rewarding Kindness 111

Living in a Material World 113

Praise versus Acknowledgement 114

Reflecting on Kindness 116

Following Expectations Is Not the Same as Being Kind 116

Set Realistic Expectations 117

Random Rewards 117

Kindness Is Catching 118

Kindness Is Its Own Reward (The Science of Kindness) 120

Chapter 8 Tips for Rewarding Kindness 125

Chapter 9 Expanding Your Child's Circle of Concern 145

Placing People on Their Radar 146

Start Being Active 147

It's Okay to Talk about Uncomfortable Things 148

Chapter 10 Tips for Expanding Your Child's Circle of Concern 151

Chapter 11 Summary 169

Resources 171

Thirty Days of Gratitude Prompts 171

List of Emotions 173

Notes and Further Research 175

Acknowledgments 177

About the Author 179

Index 181

Editorial Reviews

Very relevant in raising children to be kind in our world today. Rachel points out that your children become kind through acts practiced daily. This book is a necessity for every parent; we all want kind children and this book teaches you how.” —Emily Hutchinson, creator of The Hutch Oven

"We live in a fast-paced world where children are often pushed extremely hard, and told that all that matters are tangible outcomes like grades. Kindness has been traded in for competition. I appreciate how Teaching Kids to be Kind circles back to what’s truly important in life. How we communicate, how we make others feel, and how we care for ourselves should be at the forefront of what we teach our kids. This is truly a guidebook for raising wonderful human beings." —Ali Katz, author of Hot Mess to Mindful Mom

"Rachel does a tremendous job of sharing the essence of kindness and what it truly takes to raise our children to be kind. As a mother, aunt, teacher and mentor, I love how Rachel mentions that kindness begins with us, the caregivers. This book is full of incredible, sound advice. The book is beautifully and simply laid out, making it both easy to read and understand. I highly recommend this book to any future parent, current parent, caregiver, teacher or mentor who want to help raise a generation of world changers . . . all starting with kindness!" —Hope Comerford, author of Mom Hacks and editor of the New York Times bestselling Fix It and Forget It series

From the Publisher