As deep-seated divisions, vitriol and disturbing news fill headlines, many people are wondering what happened to the qualities of empathy and kindness in our society. 

In the same vein, many parents are wondering how to raise kids who will be a force for love and goodness in the face of bitterness and hate. There are several ways by which parents can teach their kids to care for others.

Talk about feelings

A simple way to foster emotional literacy among children is to promote face-to-face communication in this age of texting and smartphones. Parents should teach their children to identify their emotions, how process their feelings, and understand others’ emotions as well. They should also ask their child to talk while looking into the eyes of the other person with whom they are talking, which in turn helps them to identify others’ emotions as well.

Use media to your advantage

Watching TV and reading books presents another way to cultivate empathy among children. Parents can discuss instances, and characters which were kind and harmful during the movie or while reading the book. Some of the movies and books which can be used are Harry Potter, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.

Set an example

If parents want their children to be kind and empathetic towards others, they need to model empathy as well. Because kids will pick up on more things than just what you say. You can say to your child to pay attention to others’ feelings, but if the child doesn’t perceive or witness you paying attention to people’s feelings, it doesn’t necessarily work.

Acknowledge children’s acts of kindness

Parents always praise and appreciate their child for getting good marks on a test or if they secure the first position in any competition. They can also boost empathy in their child by letting them know it matters to develop a caring mindset towards others.

Own up to your mistakes

If you make a mistake and behave rudely towards others, you should acknowledge this mistake to your child. Parents can acknowledge their mistakes by saying that “I should have been a little kinder”, etc.

Acknowledging and talking about your lapses in empathy when your kids are there to witness them makes an impression.

Make kindness a family activity

Parents can also prioritize kindness by taking out some time after dinner and asking all the family members to write down two kind things that they did throughout the whole day, or writing down simple ways about how to take care of others and discussing it altogether.

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