Teaching your child to be compassionate

As society becomes increasingly competitive, there is a danger that we are all losing that essential quality that makes us human; compassion. In order to ensure that we do not become robots devoid of emotion, it is important to raise compassionate children. Read on for the how.

Here is how to teach children about compassion

We all hear and see things that make us think ‘oh, that’s too bad’ or ‘how sad’ or ‘I wish I could help’. So what’s stopping you? Reaching out to those in need is the surest way to pass on the qualities of compassion and humility to your children.

Passing these qualities to our children is essential if we hope to leave them with a world and society that is safe and socially conscious (at least somewhat).

How to teach a child empathy

How

Monkey see, monkey do. Children learn what they live. Do to others what you want them to do to you. I could go on and on with similar phrases and they would all be true. If you want your child to be compassionate and humble, you have to be that way yourself. These qualities need to be a part of who you are, though, not just what you do when it’s convenient or out of obligation. It needs to come from the heart.

What

Of course there are the obvious things you do…

Donate clothing to a family who has lot their home in a fire
Donate food and toys to families in need during the holidays
Mowing the lawn for an elderly neighbor who can’t maneuver the mower any longer
Donating money to charities

But what else can you do? What are some things you and your child can do to instill a sense of compassion in their hearts and minds?

Send cards to elderly family members on a regular basis just to let them know you are thinking of them
Share your garden produce with others
Pass along coupons to other moms in the grocery store
Offer to give another family with small children a night of free babysitting now and then
Visit local nursing homes to visit and take cookies
Hold a yard sale and give all or part of the proceeds to a favorite cause or charity
Pick up trash in your neighborhood
Invite a few people who don’t have family in the area to celebrate the holidays and birthdays (including theirs) with you and your family
Purchase extra school supplies and ask the school to give them to children in need
Pass on your child’s outgrown clothes to someone in need or a shelter for the homeless
Allow your child the opportunity to interact with children with special needs or from different cultures. Encourage your child to develop friendships with these children to gain an understanding that different isn’t bad. It’s just different.

Why

The fact that I’m even including a ‘why’ in this tells me there’s sadly a reason to do so.

We have, in large part, become a society of selfishness and one that shuns anything different or that makes us the least bit uncomfortable. Shame on us!

We miss out on so much by not broadening our horizons to include people of different cultures, economic backgrounds and social backgrounds from ourselves. We also fail to live up to our responsibility to make this world a better place when we refuse to interact with it.

There was a time in the not-so-distant past that racial interaction was not only frowned upon, but not even allowed. Thankfully those days are past. Don’t let your children see any remnants of such attitudes. Those days are better left to be studied in their history books.

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Written by

Darla Noble

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