We live in such an angry world. Everywhere you look people are hurting each other in some way. On social media people regularly attack each other’s political and religious beliefs, make rude comments just for the sake of being mean, and post things to get a reaction. In real life, we hear people mumble rude comments or openly mock people in public. Even our kids are rude to each other.

Bullying is a real issue, and I’m sure most everyone has dealt with it in some form. When we think of bullying, we usually think of teenagers being hurtful to each other, but it doesn’t start or stop there.

My son is six years old, and I’ve seen signs of bullying since he was 3. Sometimes it’s something someone has done to him, but sometimes it’s something I’ve seen him do to someone else. Kids don’t realize the impact that their words have. They are quick to say things like “I’m not your friend” or calling the child that came to school in new glasses “four eyes.”

It’s not always words either. Recently my son got in trouble for flipping up a little girl’s skirt at school. He’s 6, and his response, when questioned why he did that, was “I thought it would be funny.“ We had a good talk about this, and I asked him to imagine if someone had done something similar to him. I asked him how it would make him feel. He said he would not have liked it.

I think it’s essential to remind our children, and ourselves, what it feels like when we do hurtful things to others. In this crazy, busy world we often let our emotions get the best of us. We snap at our spouses, yell at our children, and even talk down to ourselves. One of my favorite quotes is “In a world where you can be anything, always be kind.“

I challenge you this week to take a moment and look for opportunities to be kind. Notice how you interact with others. Smile at strangers, take a breath before you respond if you are stressed, and listen to what you say to yourself.