Flu season may be in full swing but one epidemic we are focused on at The Meeting House is to spread kindness!

Simple acts of kindness, like holding the door for a friend, or smiling at someone on the subway, can go a long way toward improving someone’s day. At the Meeting House, we like to say “kindness is contagious”, that these simple acts done to others “feel good” and “will encourage others to do the same”.

Recently, the importance of kindness slid into the forefront of media by appearing in Ellen Degeneres' recent Netflix Special Relatable. Throughout the show Ellen discusses how kindness, perspective taking, and displaying compassion and empathy have all been instrumental for her success. Ellen even suggests there should be classes that teach the importance of kindness and empathy, since differently than history and math, these classes prepare our emotions well for the future.

"Awards are great, but really what makes me happy is making other people happy," Ellen adds.”

We aren’t saying that schools should do away with core curriculum foundations that have been going on for so many years, but perhaps incorporating classes that teach and foster social emotional values is something that schools should look at. A child can be at the top of his class academically, but without the social skills, social awareness, and understanding of human empathy and kindness, the child is not set up for success.

Other celebrities, have followed suite, demonstrating how society benefits from simple acts of kindness. For example, Sandra Bullock, star of recent Netflix hit movie “Birdbox”, used her platform and started a gofundme page for a local homeless man who had lost his fortune and was forced to live out of his car. To read more unexpected good deeds, both big and small, done by celebrities with heart, click here. Now, if only these acts of kindness would sell magazines as well as the scandalous stories do. This is stuff we like to see, and want our children to be exposed to.

While we may not share the big stage of these celebrities, there are still many ways to show kindness, even on a small level. Expressing kindness can be fun and it can also be social. Here are 5 simple acts of kindness you and your child can do each day as we move forward with kindness and feel good each day in 2019:

Invite someone to play on the playground.

Create a Kindness Jar

Talk to someone new at school

Hold the door for a stranger

Compliment a friend

Leave happy notes, positive affirmations, or letters of encouragement around town