HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD DEVELOP EMPATHY?

Have you ever wondered as parents what would it be like if your child turns out to be an insensitive and ignorant adult tomorrow? If yes, then this is a very basic concern among parents and it also portrays strong signs of your concern to do the right parenting. Let’s address the importance of being kind and having empathy and how you can help your child develop this skill from a young age in today’s article.

In today’s time as an individual, being non-judgmental and kind to the people not just around you but even to strangers comes under basic manners and etiquettes. Thus, it becomes crucial for parents to make sure that they instill these values in their child and that they do it from an early age. You all must have come around to a common saying “Before you criticize or judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes.” Empathy is just about that. However, people often confuse the concept of empathy and sympathy. So, to put it in simple words, sympathy simply means feeling pity and sorry for the person who is distressed. Empathy on the other hand is feeling another individual’s emotions, reasoning about another person’s perspective and genuinely wanting to help them without being harsh or judgmental towards them. Empathy provides more warmth and assurance to the other person compared to sympathy. The reason it is so important to help your child to learn to be empathetic towards people is because at a tender age, kids often face behavioral issues and one of them is being unkind and mean to their fellow classmates. If they are not stopped from the beginning, there are fair chances of them turning into bullies later in their life and harming someone’s sentiments really badly which is obviously not a desirable trait to have for any human. Our kids are going to lead the world tomorrow and thus it becomes very crucial to teach them these basic values from a young age to shape them as better adults and help them make this world a better place to live.

WAYS TO TEACH KIDS TO BE EMPATHETIC:

BE A ROLE MODEL:

We have talked about how important it is for parents to portray the right behavior in front of their kids in the previous blogs as well. In the preschool years, kids are mostly surrounded by parents and teachers for the entire day. Thus, it is a prime responsibility from parents and teachers to model the right behavior because believe it or not, observational learning is the most effective way to learn values and pick up habits. Parents should make sure that they treat everyone around them with respect and demonstrate empathy towards people. Make sure that you validate and acknowledge other people’s feelings and treat everyone equally. You can also point out and show your kids when someone else shows empathy. Teachers at MADE EASY SCHOOL, make sure to have an empathetic approach towards the kids and almost act like their friend in order to help them learn these values. At an early age, kids practically look up to you as their role models, wanting to be like you. You have to make sure that you behave in the correct manner and add the right values in your child.

READ STORIES:

Reading fictional stories or watching movies is another best way to learn the art of empathy as kids at a young age resonate with cartoon characters and animated characters more. In fact, they learn more quickly than otherwise. Read moral stories or watch movies with your kids at least once in two weeks. Ask them questions such as what do they think this particular character must be feeling right now? What are their take away lessons after you finish the story? Doing this will also help you connect with your child and help you understand their thinking patterns. This exercise is fun, interactive and will teach a lot to your child and thus, parents are encouraged to practice reading stories with their kids.

Some story recommendations — My many coloured days by Dr. Seuss, How are you peeling by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers, Feelings by Aliki, Baby Faces by DK publishing etc.

GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE EMPATHY :

Learning should not be restricted to talking and listening about something. Real learning happens when you possess the ability to use it in the outside environment. Thus, it is important for children to not just talk about empathy but also show that in their behavior. To help them do this, engage them into certain community services such as visiting an old age home or underprivileged students from government schools. Ask them to interact with other people and provide warmth and empathy to the other person. Ask questions such as how they feel about the situation, make them reflect their thoughts in their behavior. Observe their behavior around strangers who are different from them and later correct them softly if they make a wrong move. In order to make them understand these heavy concepts like empathy, it is important to provide them with an opportunity to practice that behavior in the first place. Teachers at MADE EASY school often conduct their classes in a way that asks students to work in a team setting and interact with their fellow team members. This kind of social interaction helps kids to be tolerant enough to put up with everyone’s behavior in a positive way and be empathetic towards their fellow classmates.

PRAISE THE EMPATHETIC BEHAVIOUR:

The biggest mistake parents end up making is simply teaching their child about all the life lessons. But you also have to make sure that those values stay with them for the longest time and to make THAT happen, it is necessary to reinforce the wanted behaviour either by making their favourite dish or simply patting them on the back. Appreciate your kids when they finally learn and show empathetic behaviour in their daily life as a part of their routine. It will only lead them to practice it more often than usual and will also give them a drive to do it willingly. Right behaviour should be acknowledged to let your kids know that you do notice the details and care enough to reward them for the same.

Empathy is at the heart of what it means to be human. It’s a foundation for acting ethically, for good relationships of many kinds, for loving well, and for professional success. And it’s a key to preventing bullying and many other forms of cruelty. It is not an innate characteristic that is present in every individual, rather it has to be learned and it has to be learned every day. Parents and teaches play a very huge role in nurturing these values and habits in a child and thus, as a parent make sure you instill the right values in your child and watch them grow to be better adults in the future because at the end, what always matters is how you are as an individual first and everything else comes later.

By: Drashti Shah

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READ ALSO : WHY SHOULD YOU VALUE YOUR CHILD’S HAPPINESS MORE THAN THEIR MARKS?