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We all want the same thing: happy, brave, wise, courageous and inspired kids. What do all of these kids have in common? They give and receive kindness. And while kindness matters every day, the observance of World Kindness Day on November 13 gives parents, teachers, friends, and caregivers the chance to highlight the importance of practicing kindness to the kids of our communities. Why does kindness matter? Let’s take a closer look.

Kindness is Good Medicine

You wouldn’t dream of skipping your child’s annual well child visit, would you? Just as routine checkups, screenings and immunizations offer proactive measures for raising physically healthy kids, kindness care is preventative medicine for your child's emotional health. With bullying so rampant today -- both face-to-face and online -- Kindness Day offers a valuable opportunity to check in with your children in order to promote kind habits and identify unkind behaviors before they begin.

A healthy dose of kindness is good for everyone in an abundance of ways. Kindness stimulates the production of natural antidepressant serotonin -- not just for the beneficiary of a kind act, but also for the giver and all witnesses. Kindness also boosts the production of feel-good endorphins and the “cuddle hormone” oxytocin, which does everything from promote social bonding to strengthen the immune system. Did we mention that kindness has also been shown to slow the aging process and decrease stress hormone levels? With so many benefits, is there a reason not to practice kindness?

And kindness is the best kind of contagion: the more kind acts you offer to the world, the more kindness spreads. If you don’t think a single act of kindness makes a difference, it does… exponentially: every act of kindness grows by three degrees of separation. If you already have a pint-sided Kindness Activist in your life, we invite you to share your story and help inspire future heroes.

Kindness is Smart

You urge your kids to practice their spelling words and memorize important dates in history. Practicing these skills helps them be absorbed and understood. After all, no one is born knowing their multiplication facts. The same principle applies to kindness, which starts at home. By incorporating a kindness curriculum within your household and encouraging its practice every day, you can help your kids earn a Ph.D. in T.L.C. (tender loving care).

In grammar, “when two vowels go walking, the first does the talking." So what are the Kindness Rules? From treating people how you like to be treated, to letting everyone participate in a game or activity, these kind behaviors are mostly common sense, but still require the occasional reminder.

In the days leading up to World Kindness Day this November 13th, seize the opportunity to speak with your children about the importance of kindness. Even better? Lead by example by actively incorporating an act of kindness into every day; urge your kids to do the same. Your kind acts are bound to inspire countless others.

And in this herculean endeavor, we would love to help you as much as we possibly can! If you're up for a weekly dose of fun and easy tasks with your kids, come and sign up for the Delivering Kindness Newsletter, where we try and go a little beyond the 'oh-so-boring' cookie cutter approach to spreading kindness, worldwide!