30 Day New Years Kindness Challenge for 2023

With a new year well on its way, you may have already set some resolutions or intentions for yourself. But what about doing something as a family? 

To kickoff the new year, celebrate it by encouraging kids to focus on something that would help improve themselves like kindness. On a personal level, showing kindness has been proven to increase confidence, feelings of being in control, happiness, optimism, and compassion. On a community level, it makes the world happier, more optimistic, creates unity, and develops respect. 

To start, talk with your child about kindness. You can ask them questions like:

1. What does kindness mean to you? 
2. How does it feel when someone is kind to you? 
3. How does it feel when you do something kind to others? 
4. Brainstorm ideas on how they can show kindness to others like their siblings, teachers, friends, or community. 
5. Invite them to draw or write their ideas down. 
6. Display their drawing/writing somewhere they can see it everyday. 
7. Extend this challenge from a few ideas to a 30 day challenge as an entire family. 
8. Make time to reflect as a family each day how being kind felt. 

Here are some ideas to kickstart your family’s kindness challenge: 

1. Give someone a compliment 
2. Share a special toy with someone
3. Write a letter or draw something for someone special 
4. Write an uplifting note to someone you notice having a bad day
5. Leave a special treat or thank you note for your mailman 
6. Smile at someone 
7. Send someone a thank you note 
8. If you see someone playing alone, invite them to play with you and your friends
9. Ask a friend if they’d like a hug and if they say yes, give them a hug
10. Spend quality time with your pet
11. Donate old books to the library
12. Donate an old stuffed animal 
13. Open the door for someone 
14. Help someone put away toys 
15. Say “I Love You” to someone you love
16. Paint some kindness rocks and leave it around the neighbourhood (i.e. messages like “You rock!”, “You can do it”, and “You are enough”)
17. Make kindness cards with well wishes on them and hand them out in your community 
18. Leave a note in a library book 
19. Sit with someone different at lunch today
20. Say “sorry” to someone you might have hurt 
21. Leave seeds out for birds 
22. Make a bookmark for a friend
23. Share a book with someone
24. Plant a seed and watch it grow
25. Draw or write a card to a senior in the neighbourhood or in a nursing home
26. Find 5 canned goods at home and donate it to the local food bank
27. Put a kindness note in your friend’s backpack
28. Create a gratitude jar 
29. Create an I Am poster about yourself 
30. Give yourself a pat on the back for something you do today

Spend some time together with your child to reflect everyday on their acts of kindness in their community or to themselves. This will help them understand their impact on themselves and the community. Some questions to ask would be: 

1. How did the act of kindness make you feel? 
2. How do you think the act of kindness helped the person you helped? 
3. What is something you didn’t expect? 
4. Is there anything you would do differently? 

The Kindness Challenge is a wonderful way for your Little Daydreamer to learn about kindness, make being kind a part of their daily habit, and to increase their overall self-esteem. Has this blog inspired you to take on the challenge? Let us know how you’re doing with the challenge and keep us updated in the comments or on our Instagram account.