Teaching empathy: Evidence-based tips for fostering empathy in children
Gwen Dewar, Ph.D.
"Teaching empathy? This might sound strange if you think of empathy as a talent--something we either have or lack. But research also suggests that empathy is a complex phenomenon involving several component skills:
Teaching empathy tip
#1: Address your child’s own needs, and teach him how to “bounce back" from distress...
#2: Be a “mind-minded" parent...
#3: Seize everyday opportunities to model—and induce—sympathetic feelings for other people...
#4: Help kids discover what they have in common with other people...
#5: Teach kids about the hot-cold empathy gap...
#6: Help kids explore other roles and perspectives...
#7: Show kids how to “make a face" while they try to imagine how someone else feels...
#8: Help kids develop a sense of morality that depends on internal self-control, not on rewards or punishments...
#9: Teach (older) kids about mechanisms of moral disengagement.
#10: Inspire good feelings (and boost oxytocin levels) through pleasant social interactions and physical affection...."
References
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