Parenting tips: Here's how to develop empathy in kids

Developing a sense of empathy is an important developmental process for young children, which is tremendously beneficial to them not only in childhood but well into their adulthood too. Here are tips for parents to develop empathy in kids.

Empathy is the ability to understand/feel other people’s emotions and empathy helps us form healthy relationships hence, this is one of the skills that need to be developed by parents in their children right from a very young age. Studies have time and again indicated that childhood experiences and the way children are raised have long-lasting effects on the adults they grow up to and following conscious and informed ways of instilling important values during childhood is a good start in laying a strong foundation for shaping well-rounded personalities in children.

Empathy is one such core value that should be encouraged in children from early stages in life in classrooms, campuses and in the world around us. Developing a sense of empathy is an important developmental process for young children, which is tremendously beneficial to them not only in childhood but well into their adulthood too.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Sudarshan Vig, Co-Founder and CEO of MerlinWand, shared, “A well known fact is that kids emulate the behavioural and emotional aspects of the grown ups they interact with, in most cases, their parents. As parents, we can make sure we consciously empathise and reason them verbally or physically, so those foundational aspects are picked up. We should also make sure we are sensitive to their feelings and encourage them to verbalise their feelings often, especially the difficult ones. A very important way to emphasise on empathy is also by educating on other points of view apart from one’s own or to put one in the others’ shoes so to speak.”

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