How to raise a compassionate child

Like many things in life, kindness and compassion are qualities that children pick up over time. The good news is, there are many things that you can incorporate into your child’s life to help teach them the importance of being a kind person. Compassion is a critical social skill which can help a child’s ability to build long lasting relationships. While these responses happen naturally, there are plenty of things that parents can do to help their child’s development. Here are some tips from this pre prep school in London on how to raise a compassionate child.

Model empathy

The best way to help your child develop empathy is to model it yourself. If you want your child to pick it up, you need to be practicing it yourself to begin with. Children absorb an alarming amount of information and habits from the adults closest to them. Showing compassion to your child from early on will surely help them build the habit of being kind to those around them.

Explain that words hurt

The majority of bullying tends to happen online now due to the ease of being able to hide behind a screen. Given that social media is something that your child will eventually be using, it is vital to remind them to think before they speak. Typing words onto a screen compared to saying it out loud can feel very different. Teach your child to think about what they are saying and if the person on the receiving end would be comfortable with the message being sent.

Be patient

Compassion isn’t something that can be picked up and perfected overnight. It requires time and a lot of perseverance before your child can practice it independently. It will take a while for them to learn the reasons as to why compassion is important. Be there to correct them when they do wrong and fall behind. It will all be worth it in the end.

K Elizabeth xoxox

*Collaborative Post