Tag Archives: kindness

Encouraging Kindness

It’s been snowing a lot here in Salt Lake. We probably got a good foot in the last week and with the way this winter has gone, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if it just kept coming. One of the downsides to the never-ending snow is that the driveways and sidewalks need to be shoveled almost constantly. This week our sweet next door neighbor not only did our driveway but all of our sidewalks as well. It was such a pleasant surprise to go out to my car and not get stuck in the driveway this time. We have … Continue reading →

Please Be Kind

Dear Future Pregnant Self, Congratulations, you are expecting baby number (2? 3? 10?)! Do you remember the first time you were pregnant? Your poor husband cringed every time you opened your mouth. Go ahead; ask him if he remembers that first pregnancy. “You were mean,” he’ll say. It’s time to face the truth. You were not a very nice pregnant woman. Even though you blamed your sharp tongue and bossy behavior on your raging pregnancy hormones, there is no excuse. You even made your sister cry when labor set in. That’s just wrong. This time you need to do a … Continue reading →

All it Takes is a Word

Writers are a helpful bunch of people. On Tuesday I found a lovely review of ‘Kaleidoscope,’ my collection of poems, at Aussie Reviews. That review along with a great review on the same site of my children’s book, ‘Karaoke Kate,’ boosted my spirits, the same way comments from some of you here at families.com do. Then today, another writer passed on a response she saw to my children’s story. ‘Dad likes to Cook’ appeared last month in Countdown, one of four magazines put out monthly by School Magazine here in New South Wales. The May magazine contained not only the … Continue reading →

Gentleness can be a Great Parenting Tool

Perhaps you do not think of yourself as a gentle person by nature; I know that I don’t. If I were asked to describe myself in a dozen words–or even fifty words, I would probably not choose the word “gentle” as one of my personal adjectives. Even if you are more rambunctious, jovial, and outgoing as a person, you can still tap into gentleness in your parenting… Think of it this way, what happens when you reach down to pick up a tiny kitten, or a brand new baby for that matter? Chances are you become a very gentle person. … Continue reading →

Enjoy Joy

Stop and smell the roses. That old expression is still meaningful today — take the time to appreciate the little things around you. When you open yourself up to the good little things in life, you can be a happier, healthier person. According to a study from Yale University, people who have a cheerful outlook live an average of seven and a half years longer than the doom-and-gloom crowd. A positive attitude can help you recover more quickly after an illness, too! Be proud of yourself. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating your successes — whether you finished a big project … Continue reading →

Finding the Christmas Spirit

I’ve been talking with a lot of friends about their feelings regarding the holidays. Many of them are suffering from a lot of stress right now and are having a hard time feeling the Christmas spirit. I know people who have lost their jobs just before Christmas, had injury or diseases befall their family, or had accidents. It seems that December is just a bad time, year after year. How do we manage to feel the Christmas spirit with all that turmoil? After thinking about it for a while, I’ve come up with a theory. I think December is the … Continue reading →

Primary Time: Treating Others Kindly

One difficult but important thing to teach your children is to be accepting and loving of others, especially in Primary. This can be a difficult concept to teach, and it can be difficult to know when to begin to teach it. For example most young children do not recognize if a child has Down Syndrome, and so would not treat the child any differently than any other child. However, there may come a point when your child notices the difference or becomes uncomfortable. You do not want to point out differences that your child may not notice and draw attention … Continue reading →

Children Can Learn to Be Kind

Although I think there is a lot to be said for temperament and personality, there are still plenty of character traits that can be learned. I believe that kindness is one of those traits that a person is not necessarily born with, but can be taught and socialized. If we want our children to be kind and caring individuals, there are things we can do to help foster that… It might help to think about how kindness is NOT an innate expression in other living creatures. In fact, in the animal world, it is all about survival and kindness is … Continue reading →

Teaching Your Children Kindness

One of the most important things that we can teach our children is kindness. This is such an important thing for each person to learn. There are times in everyone’s life when a simple act of kindness has made a big difference in how they felt about themselves. Children can learn at a young age to be kind to others. While I know that you can not make people be friends with each other, you can encourage your children to be more accepting of others. One way to teach kindness is to demonstrate it to your children. As you refrain … Continue reading →

Be Kind to Yourself

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Being kind to yourself is not the same as being self-indulgent. Being accepting of yourself and your flaws is not the same as being lazy and unwilling to make healthy changes. Self kindness is: Recognizing things you do that are harmful to yourself and stopping them. Defending yourself against negative thoughts, words, and actions from within. Defending yourself against negative thoughts, words, and actions from others. Being honest about your flaws and outstanding qualities. Asking for help when you need it. Resting when you need it. Believing in yourself. Choosing to make changes in your life. Self kindness is not: … Continue reading →