Parenting Secrets with Dr. Michele Borba : Blogs at iVillage.com
- Pregnancy & Parenting
- Parenting Secrets
Inspiring Kindness In Your Kids
Okay, I admit it. I was dabbing away the tears in my hanky last night while watching Oprah's Big Give. If you missed it, the latest Oprah venture is to put out the call for America's most selfless person. While it's still under the guise of a reality show (sort of), the great twist is that the talk show host is rewarding the most kind-hearted person (without he or she knowing that whoever is the last remaining Good Samaritan will receive one million dollars).
It's not the prize that excites me, but the attention Oprah's new way to “pay it forward” is going to put on the power of doing charitable acts-the hearts and souls of each of her “givers” will be forever changed. Really!
Studies firmly support the theory behind Oprah's Big Give. By practicing small acts of kindness, people are often guided to perform more widespread acts of compassion even though that may not have been their original intention.
It's not the prize that excites me, but the attention Oprah's new way to “pay it forward” is going to put on the power of doing charitable acts-the hearts and souls of each of her “givers” will be forever changed. Really!
Studies firmly support the theory behind Oprah's Big Give. By practicing small acts of kindness, people are often guided to perform more widespread acts of compassion even though that may not have been their original intention.
Drs. Samuel and Pearl Oliner discovered this phenomenon in their famous
landmark study involving the rescuers of Jews from the Nazi
persecution. In their interviews, a significant number of those
rescuers they had first planned to give only limited help, but their
commitment grew once they became involved and saw the impact of even
their smallest kind act had on the recipient. And they were never the
same. Their kind acts opened their hearts and they just kept on doing
deeds of goodness. That's miraculous stuff!
But there is another crucial parenting secret: The Oliners also discovered that how those kind-hearted rescuers were raised greatly influenced the development of their kind-hearted nature. They are important clues to help us understand how to nurture goodness in our children. Here are the four crucial parenting secrets we can use from that research to help us cultivate kindness in our sons and daughters:
Just something to think about. What do you think?
Dr. Michele Borba is the author of Building Moral Intelligence: The Seven Essentail Virtues That Teach Kids to Do the Right Thing.
More from Michele Borba:
But there is another crucial parenting secret: The Oliners also discovered that how those kind-hearted rescuers were raised greatly influenced the development of their kind-hearted nature. They are important clues to help us understand how to nurture goodness in our children. Here are the four crucial parenting secrets we can use from that research to help us cultivate kindness in our sons and daughters:
- The parents strongly emphasized kindness and expected their children to apply the value to all people.
- The parents administered little physical punishment in disciplining their children, using moral reasoning instead.
- The parents tended to have close, warm, supportive relationships with their children.
- The parents modeled caring behavior in their interaction with people outside the family.
Just something to think about. What do you think?
Dr. Michele Borba is the author of Building Moral Intelligence: The Seven Essentail Virtues That Teach Kids to Do the Right Thing.
More from Michele Borba:
Hi ! This site gives great information about inspiring kindness in your kids. Teach your child that they have value now, and what they can produce has value, now. It will boost their self-esteem, and give them that good feeling that comes from being generous. I have got the reliable information about teaching your kids the joy of giving.