- in Parenting by Alexis Rodrigo
Teach Your Children Compassion
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines compassion as: “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.” Compassion, then, is more than just an emotion; it denotes action. It is an important concept to teach your child – children can be notoriously cruel to one another, and a lack of compassion can lead to violence.
For there to be peaceful co-existence, healthy interpersonal relationships, and functional families, children need to learn to treat others the way they themselves would like to be treated. We would all do well to learn this “golden rule.”
Compassion counteracts apathy – those who care are those who take action for the greater good. It is also vital to community development as compassionate people step up and help meet the needs of those less fortunate.
Here are some ways that you can be proactive and instill compassion in your children:
1. Model the behavior and point it out when you see it in others.
Children do learn by example, even when you think they aren’t paying any attention. And if you see someone exhibiting compassion, note it to your child and talk about it.
2. Start early, ideally at birth.
[ad#ad-2] Babies who form strong attachments with their caregivers are better able to form healthy relationships later in life. Show compassion to your baby by meeting his needs and building trust and security. A child who feels loved will find it easier to love others – it’s easier to give if your own “compassion tank” is full!3. Discuss world events and how it might feel to be in the situations of suffering people.
Newspapers, radio news, or online news stories are all good sources of information on the state of other nations. Just be sure that the content of the news story is appropriate for your child.
4. Volunteer in a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, animal shelter, or nursing home.
Acts of kindness are meaningful ways to show compassion, and getting a feel for the plight of others is facilitated by being in among them. Simply visiting such places is helpful, too – donate pet care supplies to the animal shelter; make cards and give them to nursing home residents or people at homeless shelters.
It would be a more peaceful world if more children were shown compassion and then, in turn, showed it to others. Beginning in your own home, you can have an impact on your community and, ultimately, the world.
photo credit: h.koppdelaney
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