50 Kindness Quotes for Kids to Inspire Them to Be Good Human Beings

Reader’s Digest is seeking stories of random acts of kindness that you’ve witnessed in your community for our search for the Nicest Places in America.

Children are our future. So, how can you teach your little ones to be loving and kind—the sort of people who will make the world a better place? From sharing kindness quotes for kids to encouraging random acts of kindness for kids—there are easy ways to incorporate life lessons into your daily routines. Don’t forget to walk the talk too with kindness quotes and random acts of kindness geared toward adults. For a new inspiring quote almost every week of the year, print off these 50 kindness quotes for kids and adults alike.

Teaching kids empathy

1. “You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself.” —John Steinbeck

1. “Empathy may be the single most important quality that must be nurtured to give peace a fighting chance.” —Arundhati Ray

1. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” —Plato

1. “The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy. We can all sense a mysterious connection to each other.” —Meryl Streep

1. “Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins.” —Barack Obama

2. “Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” —A.A. Milne

3. “If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from his angle as well as your own.” —Henry Ford

1. “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” —Mother Teresa

1. “I learned compassion from being discriminated against. Everything bad that’s ever happened to me has taught me compassion.” —Ellen DeGeneres

If these quotes about kindness aren’t enough, get inspired by these kindness memes that will make you smile.

Kindness quotes from beloved children’s books

1. “One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” —Antoine De Saint-Exupéry from The Little Prince

1. “When someone is crying, of course, the noble thing to do is to comfort them. But if someone is trying to hide their tears, it may also be noble to pretend you do not notice them.” —Lemony Snicket from A Series of Unfortunate Events

1. “Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always try to be a little kinder than is necessary?” —J.M. Barrie from The Little White Bird

1. “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” —Roald Dahl from The Twits

2. “‘Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.'” —E.B. White from Charlotte’s Web

3. “I know you’ll be kind… and clever… and bold. And the bigger your heart, the more it will hold. When nights are black and when days are gray—you’ll be brave and be bright so no shadows can stay.” —Emily Winfield Martin from The Wonderful Things You Will Be

RELATED: 25 of the best children’s books ever written

Small acts matter

1. “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” —Margaret Mead

1. “What this world needs is a new kind of army—the army of the kind.” —Cleveland Amory

1. “The simple act of caring is heroic.” —Edward Albert

2. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” —Desmond Tutu

1. “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” —Leo Buscaglia

1. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” —Aesop

Teaching kids to speak kind words

1. “Always stop to think whether your fun may be the cause of another’s unhappiness.” —Aesop

1. “To belittle, you have to be little.” —Kahlil Gibran

1. “You can always, always give something, even if it’s only kindness.” —Anne Frank

1. “Kind words don’t cost much, yet they accomplish much.” —Blaise Pascal

Teaching kids to lift others up

1. “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” —John Holmes

1. “Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping him up.” —Jesse Jackson

1. “Try to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” —Maya Angelou

1. “That best portion of a man’s life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” —William Wordsworth

1. “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt

1. “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.” —Dolly Parton

1. “The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.” —Albert Schweitzer

1. “If you want to lift yourself up, lift someone else up.” —Booker T. Washington

Kindness makes the world a better place

1. “When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world.” —Harold Kushner

1. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” —Dr. Seuss

1. “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” —Albert Einstein

1. “I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance.” —Pablo Casals

1. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” —Dalai Lama

RELATED: 35 small acts of kindness to brighten someone’s day instantly

Inspiring quotes about kindness for kids

1. “When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.” —Abraham Joshua Heschel

1. “Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” —Henry James

1. “Life is mostly froth and bubble. Two things stand like stone. Kindness in another’s trouble, Courage in your own.” —Adam Lindsay Gordon

1. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

1. “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” —Dalai Lama

1. “Be a little kinder than you have to.” —E. Lockhart

1. “Of all virtues and dignities of the mind, goodness is the greatest.” —Francis Bacon

1. “Goodness is the only investment that never fails.” —Henry David Thoreau

1. “Never be so busy as not to think of others.” —Mother Teresa

1. “When a good man is hurt, all who would be called good must suffer with him.” —Euripides

1. “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re all in the same boat now.” —Martin Luther King Jr.

1. “Everywhere you go, leave a glitter trail of kindness behind you.” —Anonymous

Next, read these touching stories of kindness with your kids.

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