Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

Thank you for visiting Weekend Kindness-- the blog that helps you build positive relationships! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed so that you don't miss a single post from one of our great authors!

Friday night found us watching Pollyanna together…the old Disney version starring Hayley Mills. Now, we all agree that dear Pollyanna wouldn’t recognize a “real problem if she tripped on it”. *smile*

Be that as it may, this is such a great movie for families. Pollyanna exemplifies the “best” in our hopeful striving to teach our children the “good~better~best” lifestyle.

What is the “good~better~best” lifestyle? Why, it’s the grading scale of who you are, and how you represent yourself (good), your family (better) and God (best). Practicing “good” manners becomes the bare minimum against such expectations.

For instance, when Pollyanna and Nancy are out do-gooding, handing out Polly Harrington’s charity jars of calves-foot-jelly, Nancy wants to be quick about it, drop the jars off and hurry to the next recipient. But Pollyanna stops to chat, to try to make it seem less like charity, and more like friendship. Wow. I want children that go the extra mile, don’t you?

We have family rules such as: “Always leave the bathroom nicer than when you found it” and “If you see something out of place, take the time to put it away.” These rules aren’t just for our home, they apply at church, the library and friend’s houses. Even if it’s not our particular mess. That’s the point! Going beyond good enough.

How can we encourage our children to look past “good enough” all the way to “best” when it comes to their attitudes and actions towards others? Strong eye contact and really “being there” during conversations? Waiting for the hostess to eat before eating (and other good manners)? Keeping an eye open to serve wherever needed? Role-playing appropriate behavior prior to important events?

This lifestyle is an easy one to implement, especially if you start young. Even a three year old can catch the enthusiasm with the right approach. And best of all, the outlying ripples are sure to affect those around you for the better. Look at how the townspeople of Harrington came around to Pollyanna’s “glad game”. What a change from their prior griping about all their own selfish wants and needs.

I can pull about ten families up in my mind whose higher standards make me want to match theirs. Have we arrived? No, but we’re striving! Iron truly does sharpen iron, and the best place to start is within your own family. Won’t you join me?

Good~better~best anyone?

Tags

Related Posts

• No related posts