Here are some great kindness activities for kids to help them be kind to everyone around them, including themselves. We need to remember to help our kids to also be kind to themselves, not just others. These activities are fun ways for your kids to be a little kinder today.
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10+ Kindness Activities for Kids
Teaching children to be kind goes way beyond leading by example. When we start at a young age, being kind to others becomes a natural habit. Here are some great kindness activities that your kids will love!
Random Acts of Kindness
Start a “random acts of kindness month” at the beginning of the month. You can make it a competition to see who does the kindest deeds, and celebrate at the end of the month.
Here are a few fun examples:
- Ding dong ditch your neighbors a treat
- Donate to a charity
- Donate your old clothes to a clothing drop box
- Give a friend a new book
- Make your sibling’s bed without them seeing
- Go visit the elderly in a nursing home
- Pick up trash on the side of the road
Read Books
Reading books to your child is so educational and beneficial to teach them kindness. You can find countless books that demonstrate how to be kind and why it is important. Here are a few of my favorites:
Volunteer
Invite your kids along with you when you volunteer in your community. Help them choose a volunteer activity that excites them, such as working at the pound with the dogs or helping at a food bank.
Try to find one volunteer activity a month, so kids see how important it is to serve those around us.
Kindness Notes
Receiving a kind note of appreciation is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Have a day where your entire family sits together to write cards for people you love and admire.
These could be thank you cards or simply a note describing how kind that person was to you and how much that meant to you. Then, mail these notes or drop them off at the people’s house. You can also include some cookies or treats too!
Toothpaste Experiment
Teach that famous toothpaste experiment. Buy a new container of toothpaste at the store. Have your child squeeze out all the toothpaste onto a plate. When they are finished, put all the toothpaste back into the container.
No matter how hard they try, they cannot put the toothpaste back. The same is with our words. Once we say them to someone, we cannot take them back. This will help them to always say nice words. Plus, it is a fun messy play activity!
Kindness Activities: Sidewalk Messages
On a nice sunny day, take some chalk and write kind messages all along the sidewalk. Your child will love decorating the concrete with positivity, especially if they see someone admire their art. Write some quotes, uplifting messages, use bright colors, and add hearts, smiley faces, flowers, and whatever comes to your mind.
Donate Old Clothes
We probably all have more clothes than we actually need. Take a day to help your child clear out their dresser and closet. Find all the clothes that don’t fit or never seem to wear.
Choose a second-hand store or children’s club to donate them to. Have your child hand the bags so they feel pride and happiness from doing something good.
Kindness Jar
Do a fun craft where you create a jar. You can decorate it, however, your child likes. Then, whenever someone in the family does a kind act, they write it on paper and put it in the jar. When the jar is full, celebrate with something!
There is also a great Self-Kindness Jar you might want to check out too. This is an area we all struggle with.
Kindness Craft
If your child loves crafts, have them make something to give to someone else. Let your child choose someone and let them come up with something to create. Go to the store and grab all the supplies you need.
Then have your child get to work and let their creativity take over. Then, either deliver the gift or leave it on their doorstep. This activity makes your child use critical thinking to find someone to be kind to and figure out what would make that person happy.
Lemonade Stand
Make a big batch of lemonade on a hot sunny day and have a lemonade stand with your kids. Here’s the catch: the lemonade is completely free! This will bring a smile to everyone’s face. It will also teach your child that sometimes we will work hard just to be kind to others; you don’t need money or some reward.
Bake Cookies as a Kindness Activities for Kids
Bake some cookies with your kids to give to other family and friends. Have them come up with people they want to share the cookies with and involve them in the entire baking process, even if it takes longer and is a lot messier.
You can also cut them out in the shapes of hearts and decorate them with frosting. If you are extra creative, you can try to write out kind words with frosting too!
Self-Care Day
Kindness begins with you, meaning you need to be kind to yourself. The kinder you are with yourself, the nicer you will be with everyone else. Teach your kids the importance of taking care of themselves with a self-care day!
Choose a day and just let them take care of themselves. This could mean a bath, a nap, eating delicious food, having a movie day, or whatever else that brings them joy and relaxation. Try to do this as often as needed to help them rest and rejuvenate. A self-care day is also critical for their mental health!
Kindness Game
Have some friends over and play a kindness game together. Grab a ball and get in a circle. Throw the ball to someone, and whoever you choose to throw it to, you must say something kind about them. You cannot throw the ball to the same person twice. This will help everyone get a turn to share kind words and receive them. Go around the circle as many times as you want.
Teaching your kids to be kind doesn’t have to be hard. You also don’t have to plan and prepare for a huge activity. Most of the time, you will find countless opportunities to easily teach and be nice in your everyday life. Use these activities to further instill a love for being kind in your child!