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The definition of empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. This is something that a young child begins to understand in the formative years around 8 or 9.
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TeachingEmpathyToYourPre-Schooler Thedefinitionofempathyistheabilitytounderstandandsharethefeelingsofanother.Thisissomethingthatayoungchildbeginstounderstandintheformativeyearsaround8or9.However,apreschoolerhasthecapabilitiestounderstandempathyaswellwithalittledirectionfromanadultsuchasaparentorteacher.Beingabletosharethefeelingsofanotherhelpsachildtobebettercapableofactingaccordinglyduringeventssocialactivitieswithothers.Belowareafewtipsonhowyoucanteachempathytotoddlersduringpreschoolage. NametheFeeling Tobetterunderstandempathy,achildmustlearnwhatthefeelingactuallyfeelslike.Byrecognizingafeeling,achildcanplaceanameonthebehaviour.Forexample,whenyourchildgivesanotherchildahugwhentheyaresad,youcanusethisasateachingtool.Tellyourchildhowniceitwasofyoutohugafriendwhentheyarefeelingsad.Thiswillhelpyourchildtoassociateafeelingwithsadness.Thesamecanbesaidforotherfeelingssuchashappiness,loneliness,excitement,etc.Thiscanalsobehelpfulwhenachildhasyoungersiblings.Jealousycanleadtopoorbehaviour.Whenyourchildactsup,tellthemhowitmakestheotherchildrensad.Forexample,ifyourtoddlertakesawayyourinfant’sbottle,tellthemthatitmadetheirbrother/sistersadandunhappy.Askwhattheymightdotomakethebabyhappyagainsotheycanunderstandtheconsequencesoftheirbehaviourandfeelempathy. PraiseBehaviour Whenyourchildshowstheyarebeingempathetictowardsanotherchild,praisethem.Letthemknowhowtheymadetheotherpersonfeelsotheywillcontinuetochoosethesametypeofbehaviour.Byshowingyourchildyouareproudofthem,theywillcontinuetoactaccordingly.
TalkAboutYourFeelings Agreatwaytoteachempathyistoconsistentlyspeakaboutyourfeelings.Whenyouaskyourchildabouttheirday,listenandlistenwell.Askhowcertainsituationsmadethemfeelandtalkaboutthesefeelings.Offeryouropinionbutalwaysvalidateyourchild’sfeelingssotheyfeelyourempathyandthiswillteachtheirown.Shareyourfeelingsaswellsoyourchildcanseehowtheirbehaviouraffectsyou,eithernegativelyorpositively. ShareExamplesofOtherPeople’sBehaviour Itisimportanttosharebehavioursofothersaswellsothatyourchildcanlearnbyexample.Whenyoupointoutthewayotherpeopleactandhowitcanmakeyoufeel,achildcanbetterconnectwithempathy.Anexamplewouldbewhenyourchildstartsdaycareandyouremindthemhownicetheteacherwas.Youcanexplainthatbecausetheteacherwasfriendly,ithelpedyourchildtobelessscaredormoreexcitedtoattendschool.Thiswillhelpyourchildlearnthatpeopleactionscanaffectoneemotionallyindifferentwaysandhowtheyacthasthesameeffectonotherpeople. BasicPoliteness Empathycanbehelpedfurtherwiththebasicsofpoliteness.Teachyourchildtosay‘thankyou’and‘please’sothattheywillautomaticallybeofferinggoodmanners.Explainhowgoodbehaviourandmannerscangoalongwaywithhowoneistreated.Beingpoliteishowyoutreatotherswithrespectandcanhelpyourchildlearnthebasicsofempathy. Bypractisingthesemethods,yourchildwillbeempatheticwithotherpeopleandbeabletobecomeasuccessfulandrespectfuladult.