Parenting involves holistically developing your child and interpersonal skills comprise a huge part of it. It’s important that children care about other people, empathize with them as it strengthens their non-verbal communication skills.
Empathy, in particular, is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagine what they are going through. When your child empathizes with other people, it means:
They understand that others are their own people, with different emotions and feelings than they have.
They understand and observe the common feelings that most people experience like anger, disappointment, happiness, surprise, etc.
They can imagine what response the other person might be looking for which is comforting in that situation.
Parents can nurture empathy in their children in the following ways.
Talk about others’ feelings. You can say, “Erica is feeling sad because you took her toy car away. Please give it back to her and you can play with a different car.”
Empathize with your child. For example, “I know you are scared for tomorrow’s exam. It’s natural. But know that you will do well and if not, then you can always learn from your mistakes.”
Use practical approaches. Pamakid has a library of tasks and reading material that can help inculcate empathy in your child. Performing activities like feeding your pet, spending time with your siblings, etc. can develop a caring attitude in them.
Be a role model. Your children look up to you and so, when you have meaningful, respectful relationships with people, they learn from your example.
A tip.
Empathy is a complex skill and it continues to develop across your child’s life. Hence, give your child time to develop this skill and what better way to do it than using the pamakid app.
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