World Kindness Day: Keys to promote it among children and adolescents

Every November 13, World Kindness Day is celebrated worldwide, a date that aims to raise awareness about the power of kindness and its effect on improving social relationships and mental health as well as its impact on reducing conflict, loneliness and its ability to increase peace and prosperity.

In recent years it has gained relevance in the field of education, because through it, tolerance, inclusion and good mental health can be generated, which allows reducing rates of school violence. “Bearing in mind that 73% of children and adolescents, between 9 and 17 years old, suffer from violence in Peru, for us as the BIK Foundation, kindness is a key tool for the social development of people; therefore, it is important to encourage it from the smallest.

In the framework of this problem, we have published “BIK Bibliotherapy: A methodology to teach kindness”a book that promotes tolerance, inclusion and mental health through stories”, Fortuna Ludmir, executive director of the BIK Foundation.

In this sense, Ludmir shares four keys to encourage kindness in schools and foster a better society:

Celebrate good deeds: Congratulating and showing kind acts allows children to identify kind actions to reinforce these behaviors in themselves and in others. Highlighting these actions generates a favorable impact on the agent, the receiver and the witnesses. Sharing acts of kindness and celebrating them generates well-being and multiplies kindness!
Do teamwork: Provide opportunities for children to help each other and work cooperatively. If there is a group that always works together, encourage them to do the task together with other colleagues.
Let them help in class: Ask for volunteers to help you with classroom tasks, such as handing out materials, erasing the board, etc. This will allow them to think of others as well.
Do listening activities: Teach children mindfulness exercises so they can visualize what it feels like to receive kindness and share it with others. Via “BIK Bibliotherapy: A methodology to teach kindness”, the BIK Foundation aims to create a culture centered on the universal value of kindness, which seeks to generate well-being, prosperity and social peace. The book can be pre-purchased at the La Rebelde bookstore through: 981 452 671