Raising Compassionate Kids: Here's Why Parents Must Teach Compassion to Their Children by Tanya Kuzmanovic

Kids
5 years ago

Raising Compassionate Kids: Here's Why Parents Must Teach Compassion to Their Children

Our ability to feel compassion is what makes us human. Yet it's not always a simple, straightforward or easily arrived at destination. Especially when your knee-jerk reaction leans toward judgment and cynicism (I’m speaking for myself here).

Where compassion is concerned, the tougher sells are typically the ones most in need – the bullies, the perpetrators, the criminals, the mean-spirited, even the downright annoying. Compassion isn’t a privilege reserved only for the downtrodden elite; it’s a basic right that all human beings deserve.

Feeling compassion toward another doesn't mean you agree with them or believe their actions are justified. It doesn’t require you understand their motives or forgive their behavior. All it involves is the act of metaphorically putting yourself into another person’s shoes, acknowledging possible reasons behind their behavior and actions and actively working toward acceptance. Attempting to think more compassionately is a much healthier alternative to feeling obsessive anger.

It is often something best explained, modeled and monitored until it eventually becomes second nature – to ourselves and our children.

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Elisa Schmitz
Compassion and empathy are key, especially in today's society. You're right; it's not always a given. We need to teach these values to our kids right from the start. Thanks, Tanya Kuzmanovic !
Mike Prochaska
Yes empathy and compassion are the two most important things to teach our kids
Dawn Taylor
Recently as I was checking out at a department store, the employee was becoming agitated when it was getting busy and then he encountered an error with my transaction that he couldn't fix himself. He yelled the name of the store supervisor very loudly across the store as my daughters and I watched and listened. He was almost in meltdown mode and I calmly said, " Hey, it is okay. I am not in a hurry, we all have bad days and we'll get through it." The manager at first was annoyed with him for losing it a little but when she heard me talking to him that way, she joined right in and said, " It is okay, how about a break right now, I will take it from here." The guy's body relaxed and he seemed to immediately calm down. Yes, he was rough around the edges, but he was human and it was a learning moment for him and a teachable one for me as a mom, and for the manager as well who easily could have lost it on him. We all got through it together and the compassion was the key element. I did not want my kids to see this guy so defeated.

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