Tips for Helping Parents Raise Kind Kids

• Make the parents and guardians of your students aware of your efforts to instill compassion and kindness in their children. Bring up the subject at parent/teacher conferences or in notes home to the parents. Explain its importance and how the lessons relate to character education. Have quantities of our "violence-link sticker," our "violence-link factsheet," and our "Raising Kind Kids" brochure on hand to give to parents. Request them from TeachKind.
• If a student ever boasts about hurting animal companions at home or stray or wild animals outdoors, take the steps listed here, and be sure to contact the student's parents as well. Encourage the parents to talk to their child about the proper care and treatment of animals and, most importantly, model that behavior at home. Provide them with a copy of the "Raising Kind Kids" brochure, available free of charge from TeachKind.
• When you bring up the subject of animal abuse in a classroom situation, students may confide in you about animal abuse at home. If any students let you know that a parent or guardian is abusing or neglecting an animal, have them speak to the school counselor, who can assess whether there is also child or spousal abuse in the home. When animals in a family are being abused, it is likely that children or others in the family are being abused as well. Read our "violence-link factsheet" to learn more about this disturbing connection. You will also want to call the humane society and the police to report the animal abuse in order to prevent further acts of violence and ensure that the individuals receive the help that they need.
• When your students demonstrate kindness toward animals, let them know how admirable that is! Print copies of the "Kind Student Award" to have on hand to send home for the student to show his or her family. Students who are rewarded with praise for their kindness are more likely to continue with their good deeds for animals.