Whenever I take my children to anything, the pool, playground, a class, play-date, or as I drop them off at their first day of school; before they leave my side I give them a hug and kiss look them in the eye and tell them one thing: Be Kind & Have Fun.

It's short, simple and reminds them that these 2 actions are how we should live and interact with others.

As I send my daughter off to Kindergarten and my son off to all day special education these words have become even more important to me to say. They are entering a classroom environment that I have no control over. No matter what we think each room has the mean girl or bully and I don't want to be that child's parent or my child to be a follower to them.

To be kind you don't have to be nice. Yes there is a difference. Nice is trying to please someone where kind is being considerate and helpful because you want to. It's up to my children to make these choices and I want them to know the difference. There will be plenty of times in life where they won't agree with someone and I want the little voice in their head to remind them to Be Kind & Have Fun. If they aren't enjoying what they are doing then they can kindly excuse themselves from the situation. Of course this doesn't work for everything, but when it comes to playing with friends it's the rule they should follow.

There have been moments in life I've had to use this advice for myself and I would love nothing more than my children to share this mantra with their friends and teachers because no matter the age it's important to remember that we choose the life we lead and everyone should be treated kindly and have fun.

This post originally appeared on Suburban Wife, City Life.