Don’t ever mistake kindness for weakness. It takes great strength to be a kind person. If I could teach my daughter just one thing it would be to be kind. Kindness drives so many other outstanding qualities in a person, empathy, compassion, humility, selflessness, happiness, to name a few. In this world of “mean girl” memes and themes, I strive to raise a kind girl.
I remember before she was even born having this conversation with a good friend of mine. We were talking about our future children and what qualities we would want them to have. Kindness has always been number one on my list. When I think back to my own adolescence, I remember the cliques that easily formed, the appeal of fitting in, and the feeling of being a bit self conscious at times. During such a vulnerable time in life, I hope my daughter can find it in her heart to be kind to everyone. The outsiders, the popular kids, the jocks, the nerds, the loners… everyone.
A memory that has always stuck with me, is of a girl on my high school basketball team who was shy, didn’t have the cool new athletic gear, and often times came to school with greasy hair and bad hygiene. The girls talked behind her back and giggled at her scent. I remember going home, looking through my bathroom cabinets, and putting together a package of shampoo, lip glosses and all the cucumber melon Bath & Body Works products I had on hand. (Come’on we all remember that scent!)
At our next practice, I put the care bundle in my locker. I didn’t want her to feel weird about it, so I remember saying something like, “Hey, I’m cleaning out my locker and I have all this extra stuff, do you want any of it?” She accepted, and I remember the next day in class how nice she looked with the simplest addition of fresh clean hair. I hope I made a tiny difference in her life, even for a moment. I want my daughter to feel the same happiness I felt in doing something nice for someone else. Showing kindness instead of avoidance, or even worse joining in on the teasing and gossiping.
I know that in order to instill the quality of kindness in my daughter, I need to lead by example. She watches me so closely and mimics my every move. I pray I have what it takes to raise a kind daughter.
And I’ll leave you with this quote I jotted down from a sappy movie on the Hallmark Channel (guilty pleasure)…
Royal Friend: What kind of princess would you like?
Prince: I would want a princess who is kind, with a good heart, someone very clever and smart, someone who laughs, tells stories, somebody who tries to make life beautiful for others.
Royal Friend: And she has to be beautiful too.
Prince: Anyone matching that description is already quite beautiful.
Our mommy and me “But First, Be Kind” tshirts were gifted to us from Lovely Littles Shop. Use code BEKIND15 for 15% off your entire purchase!
Disclosure: I was given these tshirts from Lovely Littles Shop but all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
(c/o mommy & me shirts, toddler jeans, toddler boots, toddler vest)
Kindness is such a great thing to teach our kids – boys or girls. I’m always amazed when my now-teen kids show kindness without prompting. I love that my daughter can be both kind, but strong. Great post!
Exactly, cheers to moms and dads who teach kindness by example to their children!
Oh yes, I completely agree. The best way to instill kindness in our kids is to be kind with our kids and people around us. Lead by example.
Great post!
I’ve always considered true kindness to be the greatest, and rarest, of human traits. Not many people have it. I know I don’t.
You do.
I take it as a great compliment that you believe I have it 🙂
I LOVE this! I have a shirt from Dixie Threads that reads “Raise Them Kind.” It’s one of my absolutely favorite shirts. I can definitely see the importance of this with girls, as you mentioned above and I strive for it with my son too! We’re having a girl in March and I think about this stuff often too. Thanks for sharing and CUTE shirts!
Since I don’t have a son I focused on my daughter! I agree that all kids should be raised to be kind!
I love this post! And you are so right about kindness. It instills many other qualities in a person too! This is such a sweet post. And your daughter is the sweetest!
xo, Amanda | http://www.thegoldengirldiary.com
LOVE!!!! I have three daughters and being kind is my #1 rule!! This world is too scary and we need a lot more moms loving their children and teaching them to love and be kind. Cucumber Melon!! Haha…you are so sweet and II thank God there are women like you in this world! This message is so important and I join you in sharing it!! <3
Thank so much Lisa!
Amen to leading by example on this. I hope you tell your daughter this story someday. Some of the best life lessons are not taught, they are caught. And I love the shirts!
I will make sure I share it with her 🙂 Thanks for reading!
This is such a sweet post, and hits home because I want to instill the same in my own daughter!
I love this. I think it is so important to teach your children to just be nice and polite and kind. I always told my husband that I want my daughter to be the one that sticks up for people being bullied and not be the bully.
I love the movie quote at the end! I hope that my one year old grows up to be kind too. You can never have too much kindness in this world.
It sounds like your daughter already has a fabulous example!
Thank you for saying it! Hopefully, I still have that same kindness I had as a kid!
This is such a sweet post! My oldest was recently named as an Ambassador for his school. He’s one of two in his Kindergarten class that’s responsible for showing new students around and making sure they’re included. That made my mama heart so so proud. It’s so important to teach our kids to be kind. It costs nothing to be nice to someone. You’re doing a great job, mama!
What a cool program!!!! Making it an honor to be kind!