10 ways to encourage kindness

Hands up if you remember “fortune tellers” from your childhood? These magic folded paper predictors are just as fun for kids now as they were when we were little. They’re also great for helping your child learn to follow instructions, use their hands and practise their counting and spelling. And this fortune teller has the added advantage of encouraging them to spread kindness too – that’s a lot for a piece of paper!

All you need is:

• a square piece of paper (if you don’t have a square, start with a rectangular piece, then fold one corner diagonally to the opposite edge to make a triangle and cut off the excess strip)
• some pens or coloured pencils
• your child’s imagination. 

Here‘s how to make the fortune teller:

1. Fold the square diagonally in both directions (corner to corner) so you have an “X” crease pattern.
2. Fold the square in half from top to bottom and left to right, so you have a cross on your paper along with the X.
3. Fold each corner into the middle. You’ll now have a smaller square.
4. Turn the paper over. Again, fold each corner into the middle, so you have an even smaller square.

Now comes the fun bit – decorating and writing the messages. On the outer square flaps, write the names of four colours. Then open the fortune teller up and number the inside triangular flaps from 1 to 8. Next, lift the flaps and write your messages – these could be activities that help spread kindness (like “Give someone a hug” or “Say something kind to the person next to you”) or compliments (like “You’re a brilliant friend” or “You’re the best”). Let your child’s imagination take the lead! 

You’re now ready to use your fortune teller. Slide your index fingers and thumbs under the four square flaps and push them together so the fortune teller pops into shape. Ask your child to pick one of the colours. Open the fortune teller to the front and the sides by opening and closing your thumbs and fingers while you spell out the colour (for example, “r – e – d”). Then ask them to pick a number from inside. Again, move the fortune teller that number of times. Then ask them to pick another number, and unfold the flap to reveal their fortune.

You can watch a handy video showing you how to make a fortune teller here.

This simple craft activity is a great way to encourage the kids to think about kindness – and to decorate your home at the same time!

Cut some coloured paper into strips and ask everyone in the family to write down or draw something kind they’ve done or plan on doing. For example, “I helped a friend feel included at playtime,” “I spoke up when something wasn’t fair,” “I’m going to take my old toys to a charity shop.” 

Next, loop the strips together to make a colourful paper chain and hang it up as a reminder that small acts of kindness connect us all. You could keep adding new links to it every week and see how long the chain can grow.

Encourage your child to think of some kind things they could do to help out around the home or to make people smile, like clearing away the dishes after dinner, sharing their toys or giving someone a hug. Then ask them to turn these promises into vouchers they can hand out to friends and family to trade in when they need them. Encourage them to get creative decorating the vouchers with pictures and patterns.

This not only gets kids thinking about how they can help out, but also teaches them to keep their promises when someone cashes in a coupon! 

This ball game seems simple but has lots of benefits. All you have to do is throw a ball (or a rolled up sock or scrunched up piece of paper) and say something nice to the person you pass it to. This person must say thank you for the compliment, then pass the ball on, saying something nice to the next player. 

This game helps improve your child’s co-ordination, as well as getting them used to giving and receiving compliments gracefully, and it boosts their self-esteem too.

Cut or tear some paper into slips. Then ask everyone in the family to write down (or draw) something kind or helpful they could do around the home or in the community. These could be little things, like “Let someone know you love them”, or bigger things, like “Make a poster with a happy message and put it in the front window” or “Pick up some litter from our street”. 

Every week you could take it in turns to take one of the pieces of paper out of the jar and do the action together. A nice way to spread some kindness and to bond as a family.

Next time you go for a walk in your area, try making it more interesting with a ‘Helpful Heroes’ hunt. Look for people or that help others, like a lollipop person or a neighbour with a supportive message in their window, or a place, like a community garden, a poster for a charity event or a book or toy exchange. 

When you get home, you could ask the kids to draw pictures or write short thank you notes to their local helpful heroes. This helps them build awareness of all the things that go on to make our communities better.

Is there a cause your child feels strongly about? Maybe it’s climate change, animal welfare, women’s sport, children’s rights or keeping your local playpark tidy? Encourage them to find a way to ‘speak up’ about it. There are lots of different ways they could do this, like drawing a poster or talking about their cause at school. Older children could even contact their local councillor, MSP or MP about their cause. This will help show them that every voice, big or small, can make a difference.

Create a family pledge to remind everyone to be kind and help out around the home. If the kids are resistant to doing chores, a pledge sounds much nicer than a rota! Everyone can pledge to do something nice, like: 

• tidying toys away at the end of the day
• putting devices away and listening to each other during family time
• helping mum and dad plan meals, do the shopping and cook.

You could ask your children to decorate the pledge with drawings and stickers, and pin it up somewhere where everyone can see it, as a daily reminder to be kind. 

Have a look at our snack recipes and help your child choose and make something they can hand out to family or friends. As well as encouraging them to share, baking and following recipes are great ways to help them learn to break down tasks into steps.

There are lots of ways your child can be kind to the natural world. 

• They could have a go at growing plants from dried food in your kitchen cupboard or seeds from fruit and vegetables you eat – this article from the BBC shows you how.
• How about spreading some seeds on a patch of wasteland and see if anything grows? You could even make your own seed bombs – you can find out how on the Scottish Wildlife Trust website.
• Build a bug hotel to shelter creatures like woodlice, spiders, beetles, ladybirds and even hedgehogs. You can find out how on the Woodland Trust website.
• Make a bird feeder to encourage birds into your garden or local park. You can find instructions on the RSPB and CBeebies websites.