Kindness Pays

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In the fraught world of playground politics, think nice guys finish last? Guess again. A 4-week study found kind kids are happier and better liked by peers. Working with 400 9- to 11-year-olds, the universities conducting the study assigned half the group three simple positive acts per week. At the end of the study period, not only did the kids who performed those acts score higher on happiness measures (which, researchers say, aligns with research on the effect of positive behavior on adult states-of-mind), but they were also chosen by more peers for collaborative classroom activities. Sounds like following the golden rule may be a golden ticket to happier school years.

Heartbreak Hotel

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While this Valentine's Day will be heart-filled & happy for many teens, it's a sad fact of life that for some, the timing will be awful. February is indeed the cruelest month for a romantic breakup. But just like being a good friend is the top way kids can help kids in day to day life, being a caring, respectful boyfriend or girlfriend can turn any teen into an everyday hero -- especially when it's time to end a relationship. Here's some good advice for breakups, culled from kidshealth.org:

Do:

• Be honest about why you're breaking up with your guy or girl, but not brutally so. Use tact.
• Think through all the ways the person might react, and try to prepare yourself. 
• Break up in person! Would you want someone to break up with you via Facebook or text?

Don't:

• Rush the conversation. Take some time to consider your reasons and how you'll handle this.
• Tell others beforehand that you're planning to break up with your GF or BF. They might blab.
• Badmouth or gossip about your ex after you've broken up. Golden Rule, karma, whatever you call it -- it's just not smart.

Teens who find themselves guiding a friend through splitsville may want to show him or her this online "mending a broken heart" quiz from WebMD. Answering it together is a fun distraction, and you'll both learn something in the process.

Free the Children

As a 12-year-old in Canada, Craig Kielburger read about a child slave in Pakistan who escaped but was murdered after speaking out against child servitude. Moved to act, Kielburger rounded up 11 friends in his living room, with no money or well-heeled benefactors, to try and fight child labor.

Two decades later, Free the Children is the "world's largest network of kids helping kids," says Kielburger. Engaging 2 million volunteers a year -- almost all under 18 -- it's evolved into a diverse relief and development organization, as leaders have followed logical pathways of problem solving, Watch Kielburger's brother Marc, for instance, talk about why building schools isn't enough to get girls to school in Africa.

Kid volunteers are recruited through schools -- organizing bakes sales, car washes & other fundraisers -- and at celeb-studded "We Days" that gather stadiums full of young students. Some 2,400 a year end up getting so involved that they travel abroad on service projects.

But even something as simple as donating birthday money, a piggy bank's contents, or mere pocket change has an impact.  "That adds up to millions and millions of dollars ...for our projects," Kielburger told "60 Minutes" in November. It's a reminder that kids need not start a charity -- or even a fundraising project -- to help other kids.

"A penny is almost like a kid," he added. "People walk past pennies all the time and ignore them ... Can they really make a difference? But when you bring enough young people, enough kids together, then suddenly those kids can change the world."

Miss Merry MAC

photo: beautyzine.com

How can a blog called Kids Helping Kids be complete without an annual plug for the MAC Kids Helping Kids holiday card line? Made with artwork by HIV-affected kids to support their peers, these are always a wonderful charity Christmas card option. Only problem? They disappear fast! So dash over to your MAC counter if you're interested.

Meowy Christmas

Just in time for holiday card mailings -- this Christmas cat stamp from our family store's winter holiday collection.

The brother & sister kittens we adopted over the summer -- bringing the grand total to 3, including an ever-sleepy senior cat  -- inspired our 15-year-old artist in residence.

As always, half the design proceeds go to Save the Children.

Rise and Shine

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On November 15, Stamford, Conn., kids will roll up sleeves for their annual Thanksgiving Bread Drive to benefit peers in need. Using kitchen facilities donated annually by an area school or store, kids come together to bake loaves of yummy nut-free pumpkin bread, then sell them for $10 each as holiday treats. Their 2011 sale raised more than $2,000 to redo a youth-designed playground at a local shelter. Wonder where the dough (sorry, couldn't resist) will go this year?

Candy is Dandy?

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Not necessarily, for the estimated 2.2 million school-age food allergy sufferers nationwide, who may find decoding ingredient labels scarier than ghosts & goblins this Halloween. Kids in this position, or caring peers who empathize with them, can build awareness by trick-or-treating for charity in support of the the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. Another way to help? Have kids pick allergen free candy for your family to give out this year.