What’s more important to you as a parent: How happy your kids are? How well your kids achieve? Or what about how kind they are to others?

According to the Making Caring Common Project, 80% of youth in their study feel like their parents are more concerned with their happiness and achievement over whether the show concern for others. Most of these youth would agree their parents cared more about their grades than being a caring community member.

But what does that mean? Does it mean we are focusing on the wrong things? Maybe we are putting too much emphasis on our kids’ achievements, and showing that we value our own happiness over the feelings of others? That’s what our kids are interpreting, anyway.

Shouldn’t our ultimate goal be to raise kids who love God and love others?  Even if our goal is happiness above all else, there’s good news for parents who are working hard to instill kindness in their kids:

According to scientific evidence, kindness makes you healthier and happier! Dr. David Hamilton, in his book The Five Side Effects of Kindness, explains that kindness changes the brain, impacts the heart and immune system, is an antidote to depression, and even slows the aging process.

Who wouldn’t want that for their kids?

I think we can all agree that a little kindness goes a long way in our world, in our homes, and in our lives.

But in order to raise kids who are kind, we need to value it, model it, celebrate it.