healthy kids
How to Raise Empathetic Kids SIMPLE WAYS PARENTS CAN CULTIVATE COMPASSION by Carrie Jackson
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mpathy is the foundation of a caring society. While we are all born with a certain amount, cultivating it is a skill that can be strengthened with practice, and it is critical that the learning process start early, say childhood educators. An empathetic child can better manage their own emotional responses and understand how someone else might be feeling. Studies show that children that practice empathy are less likely to bully and better suited to collabora-
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tive environments, setting them up for academic and professional success. According to educator Traci Baxley, of Boca Raton, Florida, empathy in children is developed over time and with repetition. “The earlier we begin to model empathy with our children, the more they will mimic the characteristics associated with the awareness and care of others. Teaching and modeling empathy early supports children’s emotion regulation development and contributes to creating safe spaces in our homes for children to feel nurtured, valued and cared for,” she says. As a speaker, coach and author of Social Justice Parenting: How to Raise Compassionate, Anti-Racist, Justice-Minded Kids in an Unjust World, Baxley uses empathy as a tool for fostering civic-minded awareness. “Empathy is foundational to achieving social justice and creating a world where everyone has a fair chance to live a full, productive life. Social justice requires us to see each other’s perspectives, circumstances and lived experiences through the lens of empathy and compassion. It’s the only way to live in the space of active hope that we can create a world free from inequities and injustices,” she says. One innovative program, Toronto-based Roots of Empathy, began in 1996 after a mother brought her baby into a kindergarten classroom for children to relate to. With the aid of an instructor, they were encouraged to understand the baby’s needs and feelings, and to take the baby’s perspective. So successfully did the interaction reduce bullying behavior that the program has since spread globally, reaching 1 million children in K-8 classes. “In school, students are taught to read, but if we don’t teach them to relate, then we can expect failed societies,” says founder Mary Gordon. “By interpreting the feelings of the tiny baby and sharing when they had the same feelings, the students develop emotional literacy and awareness. This enables them to build connections and healthy relationships, which leads to inclusion and integration.” By parents modeling empathy and vulnerability around their children, the foundation is laid for open conversations, she says.
