Children aren't born with empathy; they need guidance from parents and caregivers to develop a strong sense of what others feel. Empathy is one of many interpersonal skills that kids need to learn. Help your children relate to others more effectively by modeling empathy and encouraging kids to think from different perspectives.
Identify Emotions
Helping your child label and explain feelings is the first step toward developing his ability to empathize. When you're reading or watching a movie with your child, take time to pause the story and talk about the main characters. Ask your child how he would describe the peoples' feelings; ask him to explain why he thinks they would feel that way. Ask your child these same questions anytime he feels upset. When your child can talk about his own emotions and associate them with certain situations, he's able to speculate about how others might feel in similar contexts.
Encourage Imagination
Empathy isn't just about understanding; it's about action, too. Once your child can name different emotions, encourage him to imagine himself into different scenarios. Make up different situations and ask your child to imagine kind and not-so-kind responses. For example, if a bunch of kids at school were picking on one kid, what should your child do? What would be an example of a bad response to the situation, and why? Promoting this kind of thinking will make it come more naturally to your child when there's a real opportunity to help a friend on the playground.
Tell Kids What You're Doing
Model acts of empathy for your children; make your actions obvious. If you're doing someone a favor or giving a donation to charity at the door, take the time to explain what you're doing. If possible, get your kids involved in your acts of kindness. For example, if you're buying a gift for a sick friend, ask your child for help with the card. If your child is old enough to read, have him help you research charities to choose one for your family's next donation. Encourage him to contribute some of his allowance to the cause.
Focus on Values
Behind empathy and empathetic behavior lies a set of deeper values: caring for others and accepting differences, for example. See if your child can come up with these values on his own by asking questions about his own behaviors. Ask your child why it's important for him to consider others' feelings. Once he provides a reason, have him draw a picture to show you an example of what he just described.
Member Comments