Doing acts of kindness with your kids is a fantastic way to spark an early love of giving back to others. No matter how big or small, any act of kindness can make a difference.

When you choose to do acts of kindness together, it also becomes a wonderful way to bond as a family while also teaching your children from a young age about compassion for others. Did you know that research has shown that teaching kindness positively influences a range of academic, health, and social outcomes for kids, too?

So, how can you work kindness into your busy life? November is a wonderful time to incorporate some creative ways to show kindness while being thankful is already at the forefront of our minds with Thanksgiving! Whether it’s showing kindness to their friends, families, animals, neighbors, or the planet, here are some easy acts of kindness for kids that even the youngest members of your family can get involved with.

Easy Acts of Kindness for Kids

• Hold the door open for someone.
• Do a chore for your sibling or parent without them knowing.
• Tell a joke to make someone laugh!
• Draw a picture for a friend.
• Return someone’s cart at the store.
• Leave a letter in a library book.
• Plant a seedling.
• Make a birdfeeder.
• Pick up litter when out for a walk.
• Let someone go ahead of you in line.
• Compliment a friend.
• Bake cookies for a neighbor.
• Read to dogs at the animal shelter.
• Set the table for dinner without being asked.
• Leave bubbles on someone’s doorstep.
• Tell someone why they are unique to you.
• Save your allowance and donate it to an organization doing good in your community.
• Donate outgrown clothes to a local shelter.
• Talk to someone new at school.
• Write chalk messages on the sidewalk.
• Help collect food for a local food pantry.
• Bring flowers to your teacher.
• Take treats to the fire station.
• Select gently loved toys you no longer play with to give to other kids this holiday with the Santa Sack tradition.
• Invite someone to play on the playground.
• Help your parents make dinner.
• Sit next to someone at lunch who is sitting alone.
• Bring in your neighbors’ garbage cans
• Clean up your room or toys without being asked.
• Buy extra school supplies for a teacher.
• Reuse paper when you are drawing.
• Donate coloring books and crayons to the children’s hospital.
• Write a poem for a friend.
• Ask for donations to a charity as birthday gifts
• Help around the house without being asked to.
• Invite a new friend for a play date 
• Give a hug!
• Purchase a Holiday Gift from a company that will be donating to a good cause! 
• Introduce yourself to someone new at school 
• Visit with someone who needs the company.

Little Acts of Kindness Make a Big Difference

Takeaway: Be Kind!

Above were just a few easy ways kids can perform simple acts of kindness, but you can always involve your family in the conversation. Help your children think of their own by letting them know an act of kindness can be any kind of gesture that brightens someone else’s day.

Kids might be little, but they can still make a big difference in our world. By starting the conversation with our own children from a young age about the importance of being kind to everyone. Through simple acts of kinds, it can help create a better world for all of us.

What are your favorite random acts of kindness to do with your own family? Let us know in the comments below!