When my wife Amey Harding and I first sat down with our grandsons Jake (Grade 1) and Adam (Senior Kindergarten), our only goal was simple: we wanted to teach them important life lessons that would help them succeed in school and in life.

As involved parents in the past, we had always desired to make a positive impact on the school system. Now, as grandparents, we saw a meaningful opportunity to once again play an active and positive role in our own grandchildren’s education.

Jake, inspired by my website teachingkidsbusiness.com, asked if we could learn about business together. But the more we talked, the more we realized that one of the most valuable skills we could give the boys — and all children — was kindness.

We began exploring kindness not just as a nice idea, but as a learnable superpower — a life skill that could be practiced every day. Jake and Adam jumped in with both feet. They started brainstorming simple ways to be kind at home and at school. Jake began sharing these ideas with his classmates, where bullying was an issue. His friends listened with genuine interest.

The boys’ excitement grew when we introduced the idea of superheroes. That’s how HeroKindness was born — articulated male and female versions. Adam suggested adding an animal companion, and just like that, Kindness Monkey came to life.

Then came the Kindness Song. It was an instant hit. Jake memorized every word and proudly performed it for us during our video calls.

Because the boys live several hours away, our family collaborated through regular video calls, emails, and shared Google Docs. What could have been a small family project became a joyful, multi-generational adventure.

Today, This Family Dream Has Grown

Today, that kitchen-table idea has grown into Thumbs Up For Kindness — a for-profit social venture with a big mission:

To make kindness viral so we can build better communities for future generations.

We believe kindness is a superpower we all carry inside us. Through simple tools like the Kindness Pledge, the Kindness Song, no-prep school activities, the Home Kindness Kit, and fun characters like HeroKindness and Kindness Monkey, we’re giving children, families, and schools practical ways to practice kindness every day.