A great read, worth it for any parent, and really, anyone else. This goes way beyond education and raising kids.
Whether you possess little to great concern about the upbringing of your children, this book has something for everyone!
I wanted the book to be longer because I enjoyed it so much. When is the sequel coming out?!
Author Zoe Weil is the co-founder of the International Institute for Humane Education, an organization that teaches young people about more humane ways of living and about how our daily choices impact the world for ill or good. She says living in humane ways is all about living up to the highest human qualities.
Weil gives examples of situations parents will likely encounter with their children ("What do you do when your son asks for a toy gun?" "What do you do when you find pornography in your teen's room?") and how parents can handle those situations with wisdom.
In segments called "Did you know?" she reveals disturbing facts about hot button social issues such as factory farming, sweatshop clothing, and child-targeted advertising. Besides documenting the facts about those issues, Weil takes the process a step further with pages called "Let Kindness Grow," which offer suggestions about what we can do to make more humane choices in relation to each issue.
The most important message in the book is to parents themselves. It is the mantra "My life is my message," which Weil says she has used many times to check her own behavior. The Ghandian quote reminds parents that we cannot expect our children to walk any path that we ourselves are not willing or able to walk.
To that end, Weil lays out a four-step plan she calls the "Four Elements" that can help readers come to a right action for themselves or help their children make about any choice. Essentially, the Four Elements are: Gathering information, using critical thinking skills, turning that knowledge into respect for all, and making a responsible choice.
One of the last parts of the book is dedicated to personal introspection. Weil created a "My life is my message" questionnaire that readers are to work through to critically look at where we can improve our own life messages. The 13-page exercise is a humbling and valuable experience.
Weil provides an appendix bursting with solid statistics, valuable reference books, and tons of resources to help parents locate more information, better products (such as a list of companies that do not use animals to test products) and websites that can help us make more humane choices for ourselves, our children, and the world. As a result, this book is not a one-time read but rather a resource to be picked up time and again. --Dana Anderson-Villamagna
Above All, Be Kind teaches parents how to raise their children to be humane in the broadest sense-to become not only more compassionate in their interactions with family and friends, but to grow up to make life choices that demonstrate respect for the environment, other species, and all people. The book includes chapters for early, middle, teenage, and young adult years, as well as activities, issue sidebars, cases, tips, and profiles.
Zoe Weil is cofounder and President of the International Institute for Humane Education. She developed the first graduate program in humane education in the U.S. and conducts frequent humane education workshops. Author of several humane education books for young people, and a parent, she lives in Maine.