In an age where strangers are incessantly cruel to one another online, it’s never felt more important to teach the next generation about the power of kind words. That’s why kindness is at the forefront of Vogue Williams‘ parenting style.
© InstagramThe My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast host, who shares children Theodore, six, Gigi, four, and Otto, two, with former Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews, ensures she’s raising her kids to incorporate small acts of kindness into their daily lives.
In honour of World Kindess Day, Vogue, who is the face of Fairy Non Bio’s #LoadsofKindness campaign, sat down with HELLO! to talk about all things kind, which she firmly believes, starts in the home.
You have a wonderful family. How do you show kindness to them?
I always try to teach my kids manners, to be polite and to talk to our neighbours. I tell them to make sure they stop and just say ‘Hello’, or ‘How are you?’ or ‘How was your day?’
© InstagramSeeing them after school, just little things like that. Because I think they make such a difference by just being polite and respectful. It can change someone’s day and it’s great when someone shows you they’re actually interested in what you did today.
I always try to teach my kids manners, to be polite and to talk to our neighbours… It can make such a difference.
In what ways do you instil kindness into your children?
Something that we’re trying to focus on now is trying to get them to always say hi – stop and look people in the eye and say hello. Ask them how they are.
© InstagramTheodore, my oldest, is actually really good. My mum could come back from Spain and he’ll sit down and he’ll talk and be really interested in what she’s saying. He’s generally very kind. It’s such a huge thing in their school as well, they get stickers for when they’ve shown an act of kindness. This is like the adult version of showing your act of kindness, it’s really nice.
How do you show kindness to your husband, and how does he show it back to you?
I usually cook him something [nice] or I do most of the organising of everything in our lives. I think everyone thinks he and I work together all the time. We actually don’t; we’re separate for most of our day. So at night, we come home, we’ll have dinner together, and then we both have our set jobs to make each other’s lives a bit easier.
© InstagramWhen I was working on the red carpet at the Pride of Britain awards, I came home afterwards and Spenny had cooked for me. I was absolutely starving. He texted me at six. He was like, ‘I’m going to put it on now, as I know you’re going to be home by seven,’ and I just thought it was really nice.
Celebrities often are subjected to cruel and nasty comments. Do you wish people could just be more mindful and kind?
When someone’s a bit rude to you, I put that down to them having a bad day and I kind of liken that to people who constantly troll others online. I look at them and think, ‘God, you must be really unhappy in your own life’. What brings you happiness is to tear other people down. I feel sorry for them in a way. And once you get to that point and you realise that it’s not you, it really is them. Whatever you put out, it comes back at you. I really believe that, and I’m not [into manifestation] or anything like that. If you put out positivity and happiness, it’s what you’re going to get back. Even for that selfish reason, you should be putting kindness out there because it’s so much better for everybody. The random act of kindness as part of this Fairy Non Bio #LoadsofKindness campaign is just so nice. It does make you feel good to know that you’ve actually been a decent person that day.
Are you kind to yourself, and if so, how?
Oh, I would say that I’m definitely kind to myself. It’s getting the time to sit down and say, spend an hour reading my book.
© ShutterstockJust making sure that I have some specific time alone because I’m very busy all the time, and it’s really nice to sit down and be mindful and give yourself a little bit of time. Get yourself that nice chocolate bar, have your cup of tea and be by yourself. That’s so important. I just want to be alone for, like, two minutes!
Who is the kindest person you know?
Spenny has a sister, Nina, and she’s so kind. She’s one of those people. His mum is incredibly kind as well. Spenny’s mum is so selfless, the same with his sister. They’ll go out of their way to make sure that everybody else is looked after. Let’s say it’s my birthday; his mum will come over with a cake so the kids can blow out the candles and she’ll get me something really thoughtful.
Are people kind to you?
In general, I find that I surround myself with really nice people. My family is great. My friends are great. I choose to work with amazing people. When you’re working with people who are kind to not just me, but those on my team like my management, it’s really important to me.
© David Parry/PA Media AssignmentsTell us about Fairy Non Bio’s #LoadsofKindness campaign?
Fairy Non Bio have teamed up with Paddington Bear for the new Paddington in Peru movie.
Paddington is all about kindness, and it’s about spreading kindness as far as we can.
