{"id":1912,"date":"2021-04-30T17:06:58","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T21:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cpointelc.com\/?p=1912"},"modified":"2021-04-30T17:07:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T21:07:00","slug":"tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips For Encouraging Empathy Towards Others"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Empathy is at the top of the list of qualities we want our children to have. But it\u2019s also one of the hardest qualities to teach, especially for preschoolers. Preschool-aged children are notorious for being self-focused. On top of that, they also have difficulty regulating their emotions which makes empathic behavior difficult. That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s impossible though! There are simple and practical ways to encourage empathy towards others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few tips to help you encourage your preschooler to develop empathy towards others:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great first step to encouraging empathy is to ask lots of questions. Help your child get curious about emotions, and particularly others\u2019 emotions. Help them to recognize their own emotions, and how others may be feeling the same. An example would be, \u201cIt seemed like you were really sad earlier when your friend took your toy. How do you think they feel when you take away their toy?\u201d Or \u201cYour friend seems sad, what do you think would make them feel better? What makes you feel better when you\u2019re sad?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These questions help children become more aware of their emotions and also connect the fact that their friends have similar emotions. Connecting their feelings to a friend\u2019s feelings helps them foster understanding and empathy. Usually helpful behaviors follow once the connection is made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Model Empathy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with anything you want to teach a preschooler, modeling is the best way. They will pick up on what they see you doing. Are you intentionally modeling empathy towards them? How so? It\u2019s important to stop, acknowledge their feelings, and connect with them in the moment. Be present with them in their emotion. This is the heart of empathy. If they learn from you that this is the appropriate response to emotion, they will be much more likely to show empathy towards others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the flip side, if you are dismissive or harsh in response to your child\u2019s emotion, it will work against their development of empathy. Care for their emotions and they will learn to care for others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose The Right Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, many kids\u2019 programs have caught on to the importance of teaching kindness and empathy. There are great resources available in the form of books<\/a>, tv shows, movies, and songs that can help you discuss empathy with your child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Screen it first yourself, and then participate with your child. After reading or viewing something together, make sure to follow up with reflection questions afterward. \u201cWhat do you think that boy felt when he got picked on? How do you think they could\u2019ve treated him differently?\u201d Don\u2019t be afraid to ask questions about their thoughts, feelings, and observations. It may surprise you how much they pick up on!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encourage Self-Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great follow-up to the last tip is to encourage self-reflection after emotional events. Ask your kids what made them upset and why? After they have done something that wasn\u2019t nice to a friend or sibling, ask them how they could make it right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The typical go-to after we see our child do something hurtful to another person is to say, \u201cgo say you\u2019re sorry!\u201d But this response doesn\u2019t encourage authentic empathy because it isn\u2019t something they are choosing on their own. Rather it\u2019s something they\u2019re being told to do as a punishment. You don\u2019t want your child to do the right thing simply because \u201cthey have to\u201d but because they understand the effects of their behavior and want to make amends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Care for an Animal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, a great way to encourage and inspire empathy is to care for an animal. Helping your child take more responsibility in caring for your pet is a great way to showcase a need they can fulfill. Caring for an animal also takes patience, dedication, gentleness, and mindfulness. These are all qualities that are associated with empathy and will generalize to other relationships in their life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hope that you try one of these tips to encourage empathy towards others! At the Connection Point Early Learning Center<\/a>, we want to encourage our preschoolers to develop empathy towards others. We utilize these tips, as well as incorporate them into our curriculum. Our goal is to intentionally model empathy in all interactions as well. 
Follow our blog<\/a> for more tips for your preschooler!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Empathy is at the top of the list of qualities we want our children to have. But it\u2019s also one of the hardest qualities to teach, especially for preschoolers. Preschool-aged children are notorious for being self-focused. On top of that, they also have difficulty regulating their emotions which makes empathic behavior difficult. That doesn\u2019t mean…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,10,26,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTips For Encouraging Empathy Towards Others - Connection Point Early Learning Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Utilize these five tips to encourage and inspire your preschooler to develop empathy towards others.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tips For Encouraging Empathy Towards Others - Connection Point Early Learning Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Utilize these five tips to encourage and inspire your preschooler to develop empathy towards others.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connection Point Early Learning Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cpointelc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-30T21:06:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-30T21:07:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/limor-zellermayer-COzpvQtcqMA-unsplash-1-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laura Petel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpointelc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpointelc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laura Petel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Laura Petel\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d8d1ffeed307467c4d50954f05c8cd90\"},\"headline\":\"Tips For Encouraging Empathy Towards Others\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-30T21:06:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-30T21:07:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others\/\"},\"wordCount\":745,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/limor-zellermayer-COzpvQtcqMA-unsplash-1-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Child Development\",\"Early Learning\",\"Parenting\",\"Preschool\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cpointelc.com\/tips-for-encouraging-empathy-towards-others\/\",\"name\":\"Tips For Encouraging Empathy Towards Others - 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