Teaching Empathy

Students at Glendover Elementary are walking in someone else’s shoes during the school’s Special Needs Awareness Week.

“Acceptance begins with knowledge and understanding,” said organizer Kim Grasso, who hopes it’s a starting point for greater acceptance and kindness toward all children.

“We really want to hit home with children this age that you want to be empathetic to others and just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you’re disabled,” said Grasso, noting that hurdles sometimes can enhance a child’s other abilities and natural talents. “I think of my son as a little workhorse,” she added. “It’s amazing the obstacles he has to go through.”

 Regarded as one of the greatest human virtues by all major religious traditions, compassion is an emotional response and attitude toward others that is deeply empathetic. It enables us to connect to human suffering with care and understanding, acting in ways that brings comfort to those around us. Compassion causes us to remain charitable, even if others behave negatively. Research shows that compassion plays a key role in helping children develop into engaged, caring, and optimistic adults.

 3 Ways Families Instill Compassion during Childhood

Developing compassion in children involves all adults stepping up to do their parts – families, teachers, clergy, and community leaders.

by MARILYN PRICE-MITCHELL PhD

In the world of a toddler, the world revolves around him. Many toddlers end up throwing a temper tantrum because they don't understand that they can't always get what they want. Toddlers do not have a natural sense of empathy toward what others are feeling.

However, you can lead your toddler through activities that can help him grasp the concept of empathy.

Games

Talking

Reading

Care Responsibility

Play dates

By Kimberly Turtenwald

Mind with Heart aims to create the conditions for young people to come to a firm commitment to empathy and compassion based on their own reasoning, experience and initiative.

Mind with Heart is offering three-day breaks for teachers to explore the role of empathy and mindfulness in enhancing personal well-being, relationships with students and colleagues, and day-to-day motivation and efficacy. The full details will be available next week.

Most animals don't have the ability to talk, but that does not make them any less deserving of our respect and care. Some children see animals as smaller, weaker creatures, and these children may tease or take advantage of them. Children who have the ability to empathize with others, including animals, are more likely to develop into kind and thoughtful adults.

Teachingyour children that animals have feelings, too, helps them to empathize with other creatures, no matter how big or small those creatures are.

I want my daughter to be someone who shows compassion. I want her to someday be the 'big-girl' on the bus who reaches out to a child in need. But how do I instill that instinct in her?

Our kindergarten daughter started riding the bus this year and it was not a smooth transition. Tears, pleas for mom or dad to drive her and sad glances out the bus window were a regular part of our morning routine for several weeks.While chatting about her bus trip the other night, we learned that an older girl on Erin’s bus has taken it upon herself to walk Erin to her classroom each morning after getting to school. We did not ask her to do this and didn’t even know it was happening. Erin took this as normal “big-kid” response, but I saw this as wonderful act of compassion.

Each month the NVC Academy “THEME” gives you a fresh highlight of upcoming Live NVC Courses and new or featured NVC Multimedia Library Resources (available to subscribers) on popular NVC topics.

This month’s theme is Empathy.

In the coming weeks, learn to leverage the power of empathy to build meaningful empathic connections, even in trying circumstances, whether at home, at work or in the community.

Students at Wayside Elementary School in Potomac learned a valuable life lesson this week: people are more alike than they are different.

Wayside Elementary School hosted a week of empathy training:

Care to Connect - Wayside Celebrates PossABILITIES, a special needs awareness week. They started the week with a talk by athlete and motivational speaker Jeremy NC Newman, who spoke to the students from his wheelchair about overcoming difficulties.

by Peggy McEwan

Author Lisa Sellman provides several tips how to teach your child compassion.

There is no virtue more needed in our world today than compassion. We need to nourish our children with compassion and you need to know how to teach your child compassion in a changing world.

Compassion can help us and the generation of children we are here to teach how to find love for everyone including ourselves, community, and a meaningful life.

As the Dalai Lama says, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”This is why every parent needs to understand how to teach your child compassion.