10 Ways To Teach Consideration For Others

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I experienced some kind and considerate people today and it was awesome! When I went into a convenience store a young man ran to the door to keep it open for me. My immediate thought as I thanked him was, “his parents taught him well”. Then when leaving the store with my hands full of drinks a sweet teenage girl helped me with the door and another gentleman wanted to help me open my car door. I left feeling a little lighter and it simply made my day. After that experience I thought, “Am I looking outside myself to be considerate of others like these kind people or am I living in my own little world?” I hope my first instincts would be to help or offer a kind word, however, I do think that sometimes we get so busy or in a hurry that we forget the kindnesses of life; the immediate things we can do to make someone’s day a little brighter.

Of course, as parents, our common goal is to raise children to be considerate of others. I don’t think it’s a quality that just happens on its own in most cases, though. It takes some training and example to teach them how to treat and care for others. As I raised my children I noticed some things that worked for me in raising kind children.

First and foremost is being an example of what you want your children to learn inside and outside the home. It’s hard sometimes to do this when your stressed or feeling impatient, but keeping this always in the back of your mind will help you be the example you want to be.
Teach your children to think first and act second. Patience is hard for some children to grasp. Help them to see that they can’t always be first and that others are important, too.
Help your children look for ways to offer a helping hand. Offering to open a door, helping to carry a box, or sharing a treat are great acts to teach this.
Teach optimism and how to stay positive. Some times children just feel sad or angry and these feelings should be empathized with. But, there are always lessons that can be learned during hard times. Staying positive will help children realize that good things can come from difficult circumstances. This in turn will rub off onto others.
Teach your children to look people in the eye when talking to them and always smile. Sometimes we might not feel like smiling or being kind, but others may be having a bad day, too, and we would hate to add to their unhappiness. Smiling and happy conversations can and do change attitudes for the better.
Listening skills are so important. Teach your children the importance of truly listening to others and how they can react to what they are hearing. For example, how they can cheer someone up.
Teach your children how to ask others about themselves. Help them know that it’s important to have two-way conversations and guide them on how to get to know someone. Also, teach them to include everyone in a conversation and not to interrupt or talk over anyone.
Help you children learn how to put themselves in other people’s shoes. This will help your children realize how others live.
Common manners like “Please” and “Thank You” should always be used, as well as always trying to be on time.
If they are ignored or skipped help them learn to move on and not be bothered by it. Some people have not been taught to be considerate of others yet. If they have been hurt or are continually treated unkindly teach them how to get help and how to react to the situation in the best ways.

I hope these tips help. Sadly, in the world we live in it’s not uncommon to see people rush into a store and not hold the door open or seeing parents allowing their children to act as if they are the most important. Maybe if we all work together to develop kindness and consideration in ourselves and our children we can help those around us to be more mindful of how they treat people. Wouldn’t that be awesome!