Empathy is something easily taken for granted. Not everyone possesses or exhibits empathy and few actually exhibit the right amount of empathy. Empathy is a skill that is learned over time.
There are ways to help even the youngest children display greater empathy toward other children as well as adults. As their parent, you can:
- Be an example. It’s easy to get caught up in this “do as I say, not as I do” mentality, but that doesn’t work well in creating empathy. Lead by example.
- Be mindful of your child’s emotions. If we don’t respect our children’s emotions, how can we teach them to respect others?
- Read stories that display empathy. When children read stories – fictional or otherwise – where characters exhibit empathy, they learn what it truly means.
- Don’t limit your child’s friends. Encourage them to become friends with those who don’t look like them and who may not act like them, so long as those other children are well behaved.
How do you teach empathy to your kids?
Take 30 seconds and join the 30Seconds community. Inspire and be inspired.