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Empathy in 3 Steps

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Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It can be considered one of the most important characteristics of social behavior and is something that should be taught early on in childhood.

Let’s look at the importance of, and how we can teach our children, empathy.

Why Empathy Matters

The ability to reciprocate feelings is an important social and emotional skill for everyone to learn.

For parents, empathy can be a highly effective child development tool. Having empathy can help to maintain an emotionally positive environment in the household, which keeps the family attitude positive and makes development easier for children. Being empathetic with your children also helps them learn to love and trust you more deeply, allowing for better communication.

For children, the benefits of empathy will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Practicing empathy helps children become more aware of their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Not only does this help children control their own emotions more effectively, it also assists in creating and maintaining healthy relationships.

Empathy is an emotional and social skill that children should begin practicing as early as possible, so parents should begin teaching it from day one.

Empathy in 3 Steps

In order to teach empathy, you must first be empathetic with your children. Follow these three steps when interacting with your children to practice empathy:

1. Recognition: Take a moment to recognize what your child is feeling. This initial emotional connection with your child shows them that you’re on their side, not against them.

2. Definition: Find out where the emotion is coming from by starting a dialogue with your child. This will let your child know that you are ready to listen to their feelings and that you understand them.

3. Solution: Offer a solution with your child’s emotional well-being in mind. If something must be done to improve your child’s feeling, give suggestions and ask if your child would be willing to do them.

At this point your child will be more open to changing behavior if necessary, because you have established your intentions to help and understand them using empathy.

Practicing at Home

Practice makes perfect when it comes to empathy. At home, it is important to lead by example. Be empathetic in any scenario that applies. If your child is excited, ask them why and decide if praise or celebration is in order. If your child is sad, be open to talking about it and offer solutions to make them feel better. It’s all about communicating with your child frequently.

Talking and listening to your child, and being empathetic with them, can greatly help their emotional and social growth. Following the three steps of practicing empathy, and teaching them to your child, can make a world of difference in the long run.

How Carpe Diem Teaches Empathy

At Carpe Diem Private Preschool, we understand that children meet their full academic potential when they feel comfortable and respected. We pride ourselves on having caring, trained teachers who take the time to learn each child’s name and make each student feel special when they come to class. Our teachers lead by example and demonstrate empathy every day by how they interact with our students.

Little girl trying giving food to her teacher

Childcare 101: Too Much of a Good Thing? How to Praise Kids Effectively

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We all know that kids should be praised for doing something right or behaving well in various situations. But is there such a thing as too much praise? Many childcare experts say yes. It’s possible for too much praise to negatively impact the process of rewarding good behavior. The most important thing to remember when it comes to praising our children effectively, should be the quality of our praise rather than the quantity. Understanding when and how to praise your child can play a fundamental role in raising confident children with a healthy self-esteem.

When to Praise:

When she complies – Praise your child for following your instructions and complying with the rules. Your child also deserves praise for playing quietly and entertaining herself, so make sure calm and peaceful behavior doesn’t go unnoticed.

When he displays prosocial behavior – When your child interacts with other children in a healthy way, such as by taking turns, sharing, using kind words, or just getting along in general, you should reward this kind of prosocial behavior with praise.

When she shows effort – As a way of encouraging your child, you should praise them for learning a new skill or for their willingness to try hard. Your patience and strategic praise during these situations will motivate your child to keep trying until they have mastered the skill.

How to Praise:

Praise the process specifically – How we praise our children can affect their mindset. Childcare professionals have found that the best way to create a growth mindset is to praise the process. Children with a growth mindset, relate success to the act of becoming smarter, as opposed to showing that they are already smart.

So rather than offering your child a general statement of praise such as “You’re so smart” for doing something right, try praising the process instead. For instance, “You found a really good way to tie your shoes” or “I can tell you’ve been practicing this.”

Praise positively – Praise should never be mixed with criticism, or it will reduce the effectiveness of the praise. Instead of saying “I’m glad you didn’t cry this time,” try something along the lines of “I’m proud of you for staying calm when I said you couldn’t have the toy.”

Praise genuinely – Children will know when you’re being insincere, and praising them insecurely could cause them to lose trust in you. This may also lead to insecurity. If they don’t believe your positive words, it could cause confusion in trying to distinguish when you mean the praise and when you don’t. Instead of saying, “You’re the smartest kid in the world, try “You do a really good job getting your homework done.”

Praise at Carpe Diem Private Preschool

Our teachers at Carpe Diem Private Preschool – Southlake, Allen, Frisco, Richardson, and Cedar Park – Austin, are trained to develop the child cognitively, as well as socially and emotionally. Our programs are based on the best knowledge of education theory and research, and our teachers are well-trained to administer just the right amount of quality praise to each individual child.