Teaching Your Child to Empathise with Others*

*This is a collaborative post*

As your child works on their social skills, they will need to develop an understanding of social cues and emotional intelligence. This will help them in reading and responding to the different social situations that they find themselves in. The term “emotional intelligence” refers to an understanding and awareness of the different emotions that we feel. It concerns facial expressions and body language which make up 55% of our communication. In this guide we share tips from surrey private schools on how to teach children empathy.

Start with Their Own Feelings

From jealousy to anger, your child will have likely already experienced a whole range of different emotions. Start by identifying what they are and how they feel. Being able to isolate each and how they feel can help children in understanding how others might feel in a similar situation and empathise with them on that basis.

Emotional intelligence

Whilst we all have unique facial features and ways of dealing with how we feel, we all present similar body language when we feel sad, happy, angry, and afraid. You can help them learn the signs by pointing them out and there’s no better time than the present. There are opportunities to explore emotional intelligence all around. When on playdates, or watching TV, you may be able to spot some of these and help your child in recognising them.

How to Show Empathy

Another thing that you can do is offer hints on how to respond and demonstrate empathy. For example if their friend or sibling that they’re playing with is upset, you may suggest that they share their toys or offer a hug. 

Be Patient

Children can take a while to get to grips with this depending on where they are in their development. If they’re still oblivious of their actions, help by reminding them and making them aware of what’s going on around them.

*Photo source Pexels

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