Children's empathy education

Educational skills

Teach a child empathy

A number of children got out of the car and ran quickly to the swings. Each one of them rode a swing and stayed on it without leaving it. If one of them got tired, he called his brother to take his place so as not to give the children who had gathered a chance to take their share of the game.

He quickly parked his car in front of the crowded store, impounding a car that was parked in front of the store, and entered a long line, waiting for his turn to buy a meal. Then he went out and found the car owner annoyed by his delay, so he rebuked him instead of apologizing to him because he was not patient, “it was only a few minutes.”

When my first child grew up and I started taking him to parks and gardens to play and meet his peers to play with him, he found that he played alone most of the time. Whenever he tried to get close to one of the children to play with him, he looked at him annoyed, raised his hand threateningly, or stuck out his tongue in a quarrel. I used to teach him sharing, kindness, greetings, and greetings, but we rarely had the opportunity to apply that, so the fear of people replaced the interest in them and the desire to share with them, and I found myself forced to take A friend or relative of my child whenever I want to take him to a park or playground.

Where have kindness and cooperation gone, where have politeness and compassion gone, where are the guidance of our true religion and the models of our rich heritage? What is the missing element in these situations? The heroes of these situations lack the feeling for others, their love and concern for them, which is represented by empathy.

Researchers confirm that a person is born equipped with the ability to empathize. This is evident in the experience of the newborn imitating his mother’s facial expressions - if she opens her mouth, he responds by opening his mouth, and if she sticks out her tongue, he sticks out his tongue - as this imitation represents the seeds of the ability to empathize, which means: being able to feel the feelings of others and see Things are from their perspective and then you understand their point of view. So the ability to empathize is innate and all we have to do is nurture it. Some scholars believe that parents should start nurturing empathy through simulation games that are played with newborns. Then these games develop into signs and the game of hide-and-seek, and when the child grows, talking about his day, listening to his expressions, and making an effort. To understand what he wants and make him feel interested by repeating some phrases that summarize his feelings in the situation, such as “It seems that you were really frustrated,” “It seems that you really enjoyed it,” and encouraging him to see other points of view, and asking him how would you feel if you were in this person’s place? what would you do ? Some of the most useful tips in this regard are:

• Reward the first empathic behaviors that a young child shows, as they are wonderful first signs of interest in others. When he gives up his favorite toy to his younger brother, make sure that he realizes that you appreciate this behavior.

• Don't expect empathy every time. The child is still learning about feelings and about interacting with others (encourage empathy and don't expect perfection).

• Provide clear and simple information about the feelings of others when they are in a state of sadness or pain: “Khaled felt sad because you called him that name.” Present it in a serious way that explains the nature of these emotions and how they work. It's even more important when your child is the cause of those feelings in others.

• Reading stories to the child to deal with emotional situations, then interviewing him about the content of the story, and asking him how the person in the story feels.

• Creating situations in which the child expresses his appreciation or sympathy for others. For example, if one of his neighbors or friends is sick, we ask him how do we make him feel we care?

• Involve him in volunteer activities, and help him appreciate kindness and empathy in all its forms.

• Be a good role model. The child applies what he sees in terms of behaviors and sees how you deal with emotional situations, with him or with others. Studies show that children who grow up in a sympathetic atmosphere enjoy healthy emotional development.

Many researchers consider emotional care to be the basis for all types of learning because emotions play a prominent role in what we remember, pay attention to, think about, and express. They believe that the best educational environment for achieving healthy emotional development is the home, where the child feels that he is able to do a lot when he is rewarded with a smile for his positive behavior. When his questions are met with welcome, the child gets used to putting himself in the place of others and realizes that he is not the only person in the situation and takes into consideration the needs and desires of others. In this way, we restore to our society basic values ​​encouraged by our religion, whose examples are abundant in our heritage.

Dr.. Sahar bint Abdul Latif Kurdi

Family and child counselor