4 Ways You Can Cultivate Kindness and Empathy in Children

Developing, recognising and maintaining connections is essential for everyone's well being and happiness.

When relationships are the key to life satisfaction, we need to learn from an early age to establish boundaries and attributes that encourage strong, healthy relationships later in life. 

Empathy is our ability to recognise, feel and respond to the needs or emotions of another person, which in turn fosters kindness and genuine caring towards others.

By cultivating empathy within your child, you are creating an emotionally stable foundation for your child to learn from that leads towards a happier future. 

Let’s take a look at how we can enhance empathy within our children:  

1) Relationship of Care

Your child must feel seen, heard and understood by a caregiver to develop the capacity to feel empathy. Loving relationships from family members who take time to know, understand and respect a child help the child feel emotionally connected to the caring adult.

These caring relationships form a stable foundation for the child to base their future relationships on, and increases a child’s ability to care for others.  

2) Understanding Means Listening

A good skill to practice to cultivate empathy is active listening. This enables both child and adult to grow in understanding and appreciation of each other. Skills often associated with active listening include respect, listening more than talking, and seeking understanding.  

3) Empathy

Help your child understand that empathy is not a trait that appears overnight – it develops over time and practice. It is likened to exercise – the more you do of the same activity, the easier that activity becomes. The more you practice empathy, the easier it is to understand and relate to another’s thoughts and emotions.  

4) Kindness Overhaul

Kindness and empathy go hand in hand. Learning empathy promotes understanding and kindness, and kindness occurs as a result of understanding the other persons' needs. Doing good for others amplifies our positive feelings, and people who are compassionate and kind are often the most successful and content in life. 

By showing kindness to children, we heighten their feelings of happiness, improve their emotional wellbeing, and enrich their relationships. By encouraging kindness from an early age, you are setting your child up for the best chance for their future. 

There are many different ways to cultivate empathy and kindness within your children. Which ways have worked for you, and what will you try next?