Making Compassion a Habit
Remember when “like a girl” was meant to be a burn? Not anymore. The more the achievements, stories and lives of women, both past and present, are acknowledged and celebrated, the prouder we all become of living, loving, thinking and being like the incredible girls and women we are and are fortunate to know.
“I’m feeling flappy,” my five-year-old says, looking up at me. Flappy is our word for feeling restless, or out of sorts, or just not quite right. Whenever that happens, we start by talking about why, but what works better, every time, is hugging him hard, or, failing that, dance parties.
When my daughter was little and something would scare her, a bee, or a heffalump or a woozle from Winnie the Pooh, she’d freeze in place, unable to move. I started singing her a little song, to the tune of “Accentuate the Positive” that went “Be brave, and keep going.”
What began with 20 million Americans taking to the streets to demand better stewardship of our planet has evolved into a one billion-person-strong global day of action: Earth Day.
As parents, we’re wired to seek safe, healthy environments for our littles. When disaster strikes, whether it’s a pandemic, a fire, or a hurricane, it’s deeply unsettling. A little support can go a long way.
We all tell our kids that we love them, but when was the last time you really talked to your kids about love—what it feels like, how it’s shown, how it relates to the self, the family and the broader world?
Making and keeping friends can be fraught with pitfalls. Some well-timed social-skills reinforcement can go a long way towards boosting the happiness of littles (and their parents!) when it comes to friendship.
Scientific studies seem to roll in daily, confirming that kindness increases oxytocin and dopamine in the brain, making us happier.
Spend enough time in the company of little kids and you’ll find that it’s easy to imagine a world without prejudice and bias, because it’s their natural state.
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