How To Encourage Empathy In Your Toddler
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Toddlers often have a hard tome seeing things from someone else’s perspective. For example, a toddler who hits his sister might not be trying to hurt her at all, he might just like to hear the sound of her saying, “ow.” Trying to get your toddler to understand that hitting his sister hurts his sister can be a difficult and frustrating process. Still, there are things that you can do to encourage empathy in your toddler.
The first thing that you can do to encourage empathy in your toddler is to show empathy yourself. When your toddler is hurt, show her that you are sad. In the same way, reflect back positive emotions to her. If she is happy, be happy with her. In this way, you help her to connect her own emotions with yours. This is often the first step in helping her to connect others’ emotions with her own.
Another important part of encouraging empathy in your toddler is to use clear and concise language to explain how other people feel when they are sad or when they are hurt. If your child smashes another child’s toy, for example, it isn’t necessary to smash one of his toys to do this; rather, you can say, “remember how you felt when your old toy truck broke? Well, that is how Billy feels since you broke his bike.” Be confident and firm when you explain how his emotions relate to the emotions of others.
When your child does show empathy, praise her. If she puts her arm around her big brother when he is sad, tell her how wonderful it is of her to try to help him feel better. Tell her that you appreciate what she is doing, and that her big brother appreciates it as well.
Finally, recongize that your efforts to encourage empathy in your toddler will not come to fruition overnight. It may take some time and consistent effort to get your toddler to the point where he regularly displays empathy. If you are consistent and persistent, however, he will ultimately learn the lesson of empathy.
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