Open the Floodgates of Kindness!

“Teach the children well,” are words in a song by Crosby, Stills and Nash (see the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztVaqZajq-I ). Teaching children kindness toward people and pets offers great rewards, including opportunity to do good in a community and opportunity for children to make new friends. In fact, according to a research study called Kindness Counts, “When kids performed acts of kindness or took notice of the pleasant places they visited, their happiness quotient increased ... (and) … they gained an average of 1.5 friends during the month-long period” (see related article at http://www.rootsofaction.com/art-kindness-teaching-children-care/ ).

The annual “Be Kind to Animals Week,” sponsored by the American Humane Association, is May 3 – 9, 2015. It's been 100 years since the creation of this specially-designated week. It's a week that provides parents, communities, and animal welfare organizations with opportunities to encourage kindness in children ... as well as adults.

Here are five ways to be kind to animals not only during this special week, but all throughout the year:

Take care of your own pets. Ensure your pets have clean water, plenty of food, shelter, and attention. Just like young children, our pets thrive from our caring, concern, devotion, and responsibility toward them. Children helping to care for the family pet learn responsibility as well as kindness.

Help pets in need. Volunteer at and/or donate to local or regional animal rescue and welfare organizations. These non-profits need the help and support of their community to do their job, and who is the community? All of us!

Another way to help animals in need is to create toys and other things for the shelter pets. Items such as fleece blanket beds and cat toys can help shelter animals while they are waiting for their forever homes. You and your family or classroom can also conduct a pet food drive and donate the items to the shelter and rescue groups in your area.

Don't tease, torment, abuse, or neglect animals and step in when you see this happening. Teasing animals makes them afraid and potentially aggressive, and it's against the law to abuse and neglect your pets.

Report animal abuse and neglect when you see it. There are laws to protect animals against abuse and neglect – be a humane hero and help end animal abuse. Many people who start of being abusive and violent to animals end up treating humans the same way.

You can also find more ideas about kindness to animals and helping to encourage that in children at the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) website: http://www.aspca.org/parents .

Open the floodgates of kindness toward pets and people during Be Kind to Animals Week and let it continue throughout your lifetime, teaching children empathy and compassion, and thereby impacting their lives -- and yours -- for the better.