"A friend of mine works with a group that tries to provide alternative avenues and models for children who have been in trouble with the law. I am always surprised by the distance between the kids she talks about and the anonymous 'juvenile delinquents' the newspapers are always warning us about. The twisted, amoral, little monsters of the morning paper turn into the scared, wounded, desperate children in my afternoon conversation with Sheila. When I commented on this to her once, she told me that, contrary to what many parents believe, children actually do pretty much what they are taught to do.
"'These kids were just taught,' she explained, 'unfortunately by how they were treated, to see the world as a cruel and brutal fight for survival, and it has taken a terrible toll on their lives. All we try to do is show them by example, by how we act toward them and among ourselves, that it's not true, that there is a world out there of people willing to join hands and help one another.'"
So if you want to teach your children well, be a model of kindness and compassion. Treat them and their friends kindly. Let the example you set be one of understanding and generosity. Invite them to participate with you in finding new ways to inject more kindness into the world.
If our mail is any indication (we've received thousands of letters from kids about random acts of kindness), kids are kindness junkies once they are shown the way. Make an investment in their future by showing them how to help bring about a gentler and more compassionate world.
— Editors of Random Acts of Kindness in Practice Random Acts of Kindness