One of the most important things to me as a mother—aside from raising strong, opinionated girls who stand up for what they believe in—is planting the seeds necessary for my kids to grow into loving, caring, giving, kind adults.

This desire—which, to be honest, is more like an obsession—has only grown stronger since the horrific events in Paris this weekend. As if terror and bloodshed wasn’t enough, the hate that volleyed around social media made me even more nauseous.

I believe fiercely in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

I also believe that working your hardest to raise caring, compassionate, kind humans is infinitely more effective in making the world a better place than sitting behind your computer spewing hate.

Parenting is not easy and no parent is perfect. I am the first one to jump up and admit that. That said, I do think there are a few things you can do to get a leg up in the Raising Kind Humans Department. Spoiler alert: they all include modeling kind behavior.