Today’s world is not kind. The “leaders” are not kind to other leaders. The people that are praised as leaders have often advanced by being unkind and self-serving. Rude drivers and rude neighbors fill our communities. People still exclude others because of race and religion. Not everyone is rude, so please don’t think I’m a total pessimist. But one of my priorities as a mother in the world in this generation is to teach my children kindness and compassion.
Sometimes this feels difficult, and I really believe that some difficulties can be blamed on the unique personalities of our young children. Here’s an example. In my last two pregnancies, I had horrible morning sickness. I also had a child between 3.5 and 4.5 during both of these pregnancies.
- One of my children during one of those pregnancies would say, “I’m sorry, Mommy! I hope you feel better soon!”
- Another my children during a different pregnancy (same age) would say, “Mommy! Get back in here! Stop being sick! I need more oatmeal!”
I did not teach my children differently, but they have their own personalities. For one of my children, I see compassion and kindness as a personality trait. For my other child, I see other strengths. But being compassionate and having empathy for others is not one of them.
How can I help my children see the world around them with more empathy, compassion, and kindness?
I don’t believe there is a simple fix for something this important. That said, teaching kindness and compassion must start with me. I must be an example of kindness and compassion. Similarly, as a parent, I help by teaching kids to notice and use their words to communicate what we see. Finally, I must be patient with them as I teach them principle upon principle. We can’t learn anything all at once, and developing kindness is a life-mission for all of us.
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In Chapter Two of Stephanie Dibb Sorensen’s book Covenant Motherhood: Reflecting the Role of Christ in Our Lives, Sister Sorensen talks about how as mothers, we regularly emulate Jesus Christ as we teach our children.
Recently, I talked to one of my friends about the hardest part of teaching our young children. We decided that the hardest part of teaching our children is that we are still learning ourselves. Our children see our mistakes and follow our own bad examples. It is so hard to teach our kids what they need to learn but realize just how far we have to go ourselves.
We’re not doing much for Easter in terms of secular tradition this year. I haven’t dyed any eggs. I bought candy and we’ve already been eating it. It’s more of a spiritual year in terms of Easter for me. But we’ve obviously been talking a lot about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and what that means for us. In addition to Easter, a family friend passed away in March.