Do Good, Be Good
Caring Connections
Kindness might be built into us: even toddlers help without being asked! Let's explore caring in people and animals, and fun ways to spread it.
Did you know?
Scientists found that toddlers just 18 months old quickly helped a grown-up pick up a clothes peg he had dropped, without being rewarded or praised. Helping others seems to come naturally to us!
Humpback whales have been seen chasing away killer whales that were attacking other animals, such as seals. Scientists aren't sure whether the humpbacks mean to help others or are mostly protecting their own kind. What do you think?
Daan Utsav, once called the Joy of Giving Week, is India's festival of giving. Every year, around Gandhi Jayanti (2 October), people give their time, skills, money or things to help others.
Try this: Feelings Detective
Open a picture book or comic with a family member. Cover the words and look only at the characters' faces and bodies. Is each one happy, worried, lonely or proud? Which clues told you: eyebrows, mouth or shoulders? Then think of one kind thing you could say or do for each character. Noticing feelings is the first step of compassion!
Go further: Sympathy, Empathy, Compassion
Sympathy means feeling sorry for someone. Empathy means trying to feel what they feel, as if you were in their shoes. Compassion goes one step further: you do something to help. Imagine a classmate drops their tiffin. Sympathy says, 'Oh no!' Empathy thinks, 'I'd feel hungry and embarrassed too.' Compassion offers to share your lunch! Which one will you practise this week?