Raising an Empathetic Child –

Here are five tips for raising an empathetic child:

  1. Be a responsive parent. Beginning in infancy, babies learn empathy when their needs are met by a caregiver….
  2. Label feelings.  When children are able to identify and name their own emotions, they are better able to recognize emotion in others. …
  3. Allow all feelings to be okay. Many parents want to quickly jump in and make sad or angry feelings go away for their children. …
  4. Model empathy. Sue Boxer, director of early childhood at B’nai Jehudah, is inspired by the quote “If you don’t model what you teach, you are teaching something else.” ….
  5. Volunteer. Finding ways to serve others allows your child to think about what it would be like to be in someone else’s shoes. …


Know that developing and practicing empathy is a lifelong process, not something that happens overnight. 



by KIMBERLY LEVITAN

image http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant