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Most early years plant in children the virtues we want them to blossom over time. Love, kindness, and sincerity surrender more easily when they have empathy behind them. But in a “me”-centered culture, developing empathy in children can be difficult. I think I have to be very conscious about directing my children’s hearts outward and teaching them to think of others and to take into account the feelings of others. That’s why today I’m sharing five special ways you can incorporate teaching empathy into your routines, teachings and homes that will encourage and encourage children, regardless of age, to be empathetic towards others!
1. Empathize with your children.
This may be a parenting cliche, but it sure sounds right: Our kids are always watching us. We are their first and most important teacher and we teach a lot. give examples. Children, if we listen to, respect, and understand those around us – and they’ll notice if we don’t. They will learn from how we interact with the people around us, from how we treat servers at restaurants to how we value friends in need.
2. Show them how to put themselves in the shoes of others.
Ask pointed questions to get kids to see things from someone else’s perspective. Ask them how the actions or actions of others will make them feel. Here are a few scenarios that can be turned into teachable moments:
- When they don’t want to share with their siblings
- When they say something hurtful to a friend or sibling
- When they ask about a current event
- When they read about a difficult topic or period in history
3. Make serving others a family habit.
There is a saying in our house: “When someone needs help, we try to help.” That means being quick to help a younger sister carry something heavy or fill her older sister’s water bottle when she’s running late.
Make it a habit for children to serve outside of your home as well. Young children can help their neighbors by bringing their newspaper to their front porch or in the mail, or help their grandparents by helping them do the dishes or water the plants. Serving the needs in our communities also helps develop empathy in children. A few years ago, I wrote an article about it. Being a Serving Family this shows how dedication to a service organization can have such an impact on children.
4. Read books that develop empathy.
Research has shown that fiction books help people understand the emotions of others, which can help develop empathy. I would also like to add that good fiction books can provide teachable moments with your children that you cannot normally experience in your daily conversations. For example, Face Dress It develops a lot of empathy in school-aged children and can help with bullying and teasing and how to stand up for other classmates. great joy Something that encourages outward focus at Christmas.
Books also allow us to introduce our children to different places, peoples and periods of history so that they are not aware of or exposed to them. twenty and ten I showed my children what it was like to experience the Holocaust as a Jewish child. Books can help children connect with and better understand history.
Reading aloud with my kids over the years has provided many needed conversations along these lines. Make sure your home library is full of rich stories, both new and old, and read to them stories that develop empathy for characters who have overcome difficult things!
With all the books and resources available, it can be difficult to know where to start when searching for books or adding them to your home library. Ours Classic Children’s Books Club packed with rich literature covering all kinds of topics – rest assured take a look at this!
5. Show your child empathy.
Finally, it is important to show empathy to our children as well. The most important, first-hand experiences of empathy start at home, where as parents we have the opportunity to acknowledge their feelings, shoulder their experiences, and make them feel seen and loved.
Children need a lot of nutrition when they are young. Kissing the boos and wiping her tears will make the transition to listening to your hurt feelings after school. And as they get older, you can use your time at the dinner table, in the car, or at bedtime to ask informed questions about the day they spent and what they were going through in that moment. Here are a few examples of questions you can ask:
- What did you do or learn that was interesting to you today?
- Who made you feel loved today?
- What was the hardest thing that happened today?
What does teaching and encouraging empathy look like in your home? If you have tried and verified tips or resources, please share them in the comments below!
Photo: Brenna Kneiss
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