Kindness is contagious according to Tia Mowry-Hardrict who tells PEOPLE exclusively that her son displays exemplary character at school because of the compassion that he sees at home.

“Even his schoolteacher wrote me a letter saying just how caring he is of other people’s feelings, and they said they really don’t see that at a young age,” Tia says. The actress further explains, “I wanted to teach him what unconditional love is. Love, in my opinion, is not earned. We should all be loving and caring. So for Cree to have that, that has been my goal from day one.”

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Although his behavior typically earns high marks, there are times when Cree has to be reminded of what is acceptable. “There are positive consequences and negative consequences,” Tia says of her disciplinarian practices when steering Cree away from bad behavior. “If you don’t listen to Mommy, Daddy [Cory Hardrict] or teachers, some of your favorite things are going to be taken away,” she shares.

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“I think the key is to make sure that you get on his level,” Mrs. Hardrict adds. “I communicate with him [using] the same words he [uses to communicate] with me.”

Cree is Tia and husband Cory Hardrict’s only child. He will celebrate his fifth birthday on June 28, 2016.