Teach Young Children Kindness And Inclusion With These Books

Teaching my children to be kind and inclusive has been one of the trickier concepts to navigate as a parent. We obviously try to model kindness and inclusion, but it can be difficult to explain those abstract concepts in ways very small kids can understand. Books, like those in this excellent list, help parents figure out how to teach their kids lots of things, and kindness is no different. 

As a parent, I've been shocked at just how awful some children's books can be. Not just annoying, but teaching brattiness and even how to make fun of others. We accidentally took a book home from the library that involved a cat who was so fat that he got stuck in his cat door — and all of the bugs in the garden saw him stuck and laughed at his misfortune. We paraphrased our way through one reading and returned it to the library ASAP. 

Books that actually do teach kindness and inclusion in a way that's not preachy or too complicated are worth their weight in gold when you have little kids. Here's a list to get you started on raising your small human right.