How to raise kind kids

co-working with kids motherhood personal growth practical tips

Today is Valentine's Day, and I've been thinking a lot about all kinds of love. One big one for me is loving our neighbor, and raising kids who do the same. I'm very blessed to have kids who -- all 4 -- are kind to each other and other people, and I've been thinking about how that happened. 

I've decided it's one simple thing: Practice.

Little by little, they have each had many opportunities to practice being kind. It starts here with each other, and many times things don't go kindly at first, so we start over and try a different way (myself included). We practice noticing how good it feels when we have kindness, and we practice noticing how gross it feels when we don't. 

Humans become really good at things we practice -- for good or otherwise. If we practice impatience, we'll become really good at being impatient. If we practice judging and mocking, we'll become really good at judging and mocking. Conversely, if we practice connecting with and serving each other, we'll get really good at it. 

It's never too late to learn something new. Just find lots of ways to practice.