Empathy is a much cherished social value and is considered a crucial component of social intelligence. It is not unusual for parents to want their children to be aware of the feelings of others around them. It is also important for parents to understand when such awareness begins to develop in their children. Psychotherapists have been attempting to find a way to measure empathy, but until that happens, parents may have to rely on their observation of empathy in their teens.
Physiology of Empathy
The medial prefrontal cortex located in the front part of the brain is associated with all high-level thinking, including guilt as well as empathy. While in adults, the medial prefrontal cortex is completely developed, the development is still taking place in teens. This often leads psychologists to believe that teens do not have a sense of empathy as developed as that in adults. As the child ages, empathy develops more. This may mean that a child in his early teens may not have empathy as highly developed as that in older teens.
Thinking in Teens
University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience claims that as children age, their thinking strategies also begin to change. Adults are able to figure out the consequences of their actions much faster than teenagers. Teenagers, while not slow at understanding the feelings of those around them, may think of their own self and ask themselves the question "What would I do?" instead of taking the feelings of others into account. They are not always capable of considering the effect of their actions on others.
Myths about Teenagers and Empathy
There is a prevailing opinion that teenagers are callous and devoid of all empathy, and this is a myth. As teenagers gain more experience, they become more sensitive to the feelings of people. Adolescents are at a development stage at which they are more self-conscious. They spend time trying to focus on their own feelings, but this does not stem from callousness or a willful denial of others' feelings. Their state of hormonal disarray also makes them more vulnerable to emotional volatility, but this is not callousness.
Parent's Role in Developing Empathy
National Institute of Mental Health found that children can be taught empathy from a very early age by their parents. While teenagers may be slow at developing empathy on their own, parents can create a warm and understanding environment to teach them empathy. Parents can develop family rules and have positive strategies for training behavior. This empowers the child and allows them to develop empathy toward the members of the family. The parent may also focus on teaching the child similarities between their own feelings and the feelings of others.
