How to Bring Back the Kindness: Have a Kindness Contest

I don’t know if your family struggles with this, but we’ve been having a horrible time being kind to one another. Not just the boys, me too. Not sure of the reason. Maybe it’s because we’re not really settled yet in our new home or we’re all still adjusting to a new life in Tennessee.

Perhaps its due to poor sleep since we’re camping on air mattresses. We moved into our house mid-August but are trying to paint the walls before we move all our furniture from storage. I know it is crazy but it is the way we like to do it. What I do know is the lack of kindness HAS TO STOP!

How to have a Kindness Contest

It dawned on me one morning that we should have a Kindness Contest. I can nag all day about being nicer but a competition really speaks in our household. I made a simple chart and we got started. If you are kind, you get a point. Anyone can give points but some may need parent approval.

Examples:

• “It looks like you are busy in the kitchen, how can I help?”
• If you notice an unmade bed you make it for the other person.
• “I’m not going to eat the last cinnamon roll, I’m going to save it for you.”
• “This is my favorite toy that I never let you play with but we can take turns with it for half an hour.”
• As you are walking to the front door, a family member says, “Let me get the door for you and holds it open.”

We started the contest on a Friday evening and ended it on Sunday at 6 pm. The winner of the kindness competition got to pick what sweet treat we made the following Saturday. Side note: most Saturdays we bake a sweet of some sort. We have been doing it for a while but I think it became more regular after I read this book. The prize for being the kindest person in a family could be anything. Brent, my husband, actually came up with picking the sweet idea.

It took a while for us to bring the kindness back but we did and it was such a pleasant weekend. Grant suggested we do another contest this time about politeness. The contest could really be about any value that your family needs to improve.

If you are having trouble with those you love or yourself speaking kindly in your home I encourage you to try this for one day or a weekend. It worked for us and who doesn’t want sweeter words being spoken in their home?

By the way, Dean won and he picked brownies with frosting for the following Saturday.