Compassion is so incredibly important and yet also somewhat lacking in our world. Or maybe it’s not, but it certainly isn’t making headlines. Bloggers are trying to change that today with 1000 Voices for Compassion and they’re raises their voices and their words.
Words. Words are so incredibly powerful, and no one knows that better than parents of young children, for better and for worse. I’ll never forget when my 2 year old gleefully said, “Hello, little man!” to our brand new neighbor, who was definitely not little. Sigh.
I was on Facebook avoiding the fact that I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to write for this post when I saw this clip from Bambi in my feed. Leave it to an animated character to make the point that words matter, and that people of all ages need to take care to use kind words.
“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing’ at all.” I may not love Thumper’s grammar here, but his dad is right.
Words matter, and even small kids can take the care to choose nice, kind ones. This 24 second clip gives parents a lot to talk about with their little ones. How did Bambi feel? What could Thumper have said that would have been better? Did Thumper mean to be mean? Probably not, but a lot of times our words can make people feel bad even when we weren’t trying to be mean. That’s why you really have to think. While Thumper wasn’t trying to be mean, of course, he probably wasn’t thinking “Is this kind?” either.
It’s an important and sometimes difficult lesson that what you say may have an unintended impact, and that needs to be considered. The old adage “think before you speak” can be an important component of compassion.
Keeping with the word theme, books are also a great way to teach kids compassion, empathy, and kindness. Check out this list of Books That Teach Empathy from Common Sense Media. It includes some of my all-time favorites, such as Charlotte’s Web, as well as some great new books, like Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla which is great for littler ones.
Charlotte’s Web by A.A. Milne has so many stories of compassion and characters helping each other, starting from the first page. Fern, Charlotte, Wilbur and even Templeton the rat all show each other compassion. It’s a classic for a reason, and proves that stories of helping never go out of style. It also so deftly illustrates the incredible power of words, ones that can and do save Wilbur’s life.
For younger kids ages 4-8, Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate is a great factual account of the life of the gorilla that stars in her Newbery Medal-winning book, The One and Only Ivan, which is for kids approximately ages 8-12. Both books underscore the importance of compassion, the pain of loneliness, the importance of connection and the value found in offering kindness and help to each other.
I’m sure your children have given help, and I know that you’re encouraging them to keep doing so. Here’s raising kind, compassionate, helpful chidlren who will use those traits to make the world a better place.
You may also like: Letter to my daughter about what truly matters AND Netflix titles that teach kids about kindness
Prior post: Fast and easy 4 ingredient Black Bean Soup Recipe
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