100 Acts of Kindness for Kids, With a Free Printable Checklist

Every child can be kind. Most of them just need somebody to show them what it looks like.

“Be kind” is hard for a five-year-old to picture. “Hold the door for the person behind you” is something they can do before lunch. So I wrote down 100 small things a child can do, at home, at school and around the neighborhood.

Most of them cost nothing and take less than a minute.

How to use the list

Print the checklist and hang it where your child can see it. Let them pick one act a day, since a child keeps going longer with something they chose. When it’s done, they check the box.

Then ask about it at dinner or bedtime: “What kind thing did you do today? How did it go?” You don’t have to finish all 100. Ten is a good month.

At home

1. Set the table without being asked
2. Make your bed
3. Help fold the laundry
4. Put your shoes where they go
5. Help carry in the groceries
6. Read a story to a younger brother or sister
7. Share the last cookie
8. Let someone else pick the show
9. Help make dinner
10. Clear your plate after you eat
11. Give someone in your family a hug
12. Draw a picture for your mom or dad
13. Help find something that’s lost
14. Put your toys away
15. Feed a pet
16. Leave a kind note on someone’s pillow
17. Help water the plants
18. Say thank you for dinner
19. Play a game your brother or sister picks
20. Bring someone a glass of water

At school

21. Say good morning to your teacher
22. Hold the door for the person behind you
23. Invite someone new to play
24. Share your crayons
25. Sit with someone who is alone at lunch
26. Help a friend pick up what they dropped
27. Let someone go ahead of you in line
28. Tell a classmate “good job”
29. Help clean up the classroom
30. Thank the lunch helpers
31. Thank the bus driver
32. Make a card for the custodian
33. Pass the ball to someone who hasn’t had a turn
34. Help a friend who is stuck
35. Save a seat for someone
36. Listen when someone else is talking
37. Lend a pencil
38. Cheer for a classmate
39. Ask someone who looks sad if they’re okay
40. Make a thank-you card for your teacher

With friends

41. Share a toy
42. Take turns
43. Tell a friend what you like about them
44. Make a drawing for a friend
45. Let a friend go first
46. Say sorry when you hurt someone
47. Forgive a friend who says sorry
48. Ask a friend what they want to play
49. Teach a friend something you know
50. Stand next to a friend who is being teased
51. Tell a grown-up when someone is being hurt
52. Include a little kid in your game
53. Give a friend a high five
54. Share your snack
55. Help a friend up when they fall

Number 50 is a hard one, and it matters. In The Grumble-Gator’s Greatest Raft, Toby’s friends tell him to hit back. He doesn’t hit, and he doesn’t run away either. That is a kind of brave a child can learn.

In the neighborhood

56. Wave to a neighbor
57. Bake cookies for a neighbor
58. Draw with chalk on the sidewalk to make people smile
59. Pick up litter at the park
60. Donate a toy you’ve outgrown
61. Donate a book you’ve finished
62. Give canned food to a food drive
63. Thank a mail carrier
64. Thank a police officer or firefighter
65. Make a card for someone in a nursing home
66. Bring in a neighbor’s trash can
67. Hold the door at the store
68. Return a shopping cart
69. Smile at someone new
70. Leave a kind note in a library book

For family far away

71. Call a grandparent
72. Mail a drawing to someone you love
73. Ask a grandparent about when they were little
74. Send a video of you saying hello
75. Make a card for a cousin
76. Say a prayer for someone
77. Help a grandparent with a chore
78. Look at old pictures together
79. Tell someone you miss them
80. Sing a song for someone over the phone

For animals and the earth

81. Fill a bird feeder
82. Give your pet fresh water
83. Be gentle with bugs
84. Plant a flower
85. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth
86. Turn off the light when you leave a room
87. Bring a reusable bag to the store
88. Walk a dog with a grown-up
89. Put out a dish of water for the birds on a hot day
90. Recycle a bottle or can

With kind words

91. Say “Thank you.”
92. Say “Do you want to play with us?”
93. Say “I’m sorry.”
94. Say “You can go first.”
95. Say “That was a great idea.”
96. Say “Are you okay?”
97. Say “I like your drawing.”
98. Say “I’m glad you’re my friend.”
99. Say “Can I help?”
100. Say “I love you.”

Number 92 is the one I’d teach first. “Do you want to play with us?” is seven words, and it can change a child’s whole day.

For teachers

Hang the checklist on the wall and let the class try for 100 together. Put a tally mark by an act each time someone does it, and celebrate when you fill the page. You’ll find more free classroom printables on my For Educators page.

Download the free checklist ↓

Book 1

The Grumble-Gator’s Greatest Raft

A gentle turtle, a grumpy gator, and the kind word that turns a bully into a friend. Ages 3–8.

Buy on Amazon

Amazon: fastest shipping. Or buy direct from the author (ships in 2–3 weeks).

New · Book 2

The Grumble-Gator’s Bravest Choice

Barnaby was picked on too, once. The brave choice that stops the hurt from being passed on. Ages 3–8.

Buy on Amazon

Amazon: fastest shipping. Or buy direct from the author (ships in 2–3 weeks).

Acts of kindness questions parents ask

What are easy acts of kindness for a 3-year-old?

Start with things they can do with you beside them: give a hug, share a toy, help feed a pet, put toys away, or say thank you. Then name it out loud so they learn what kindness looks like.

How many acts of kindness should a child do each day?

One is plenty. A child who does one kind thing a day and talks about it afterward learns more than a child rushing through a list.

How do I get my child to want to be kind?

Let them choose the kind act, notice it when they do it, and tell them how it made the other person feel. Kids repeat what gets noticed.

Is the 100 acts of kindness checklist free?

Yes. It’s a two-page PDF that is free to print at home or for a classroom, and you don’t have to sign up for anything.

One last thought

A child who checks ten boxes on this list has done ten kind things for real people. That adds up faster than you’d think.

Start with one today, and let your child pick it.

Cory