Compassion is something that children will become accustomed to as they grow up, when they’re developing their skills in making friends, communicating and working within teams. Even when issues arise among friends, children will be keen to develop their skills in understanding moral values – with compassion being one of them.
In order to help your child understand and develop compassion, we have come up with a guide that allows you to develop skills in compassion in your child with this guide from a private school in Harpenden.
Your child is always keen to follow the direction of their parents, which is why they’ll be looking to you for support wherever they can find it. It’s a part of what makes your child who they are by following their elders. With that in mind, you should look to model forms of compassion when in front of your child. This can involve helping your child with something they’re working on, giving them a new toy when they work well in school or showing them how to be kind to others. These all help form an understanding of compassion and kindness in your child.
Compassion is the general understanding that you can try to be kind even when you feel like you can’t. At the end of the day, there’s always a time and place. So showing your child that they should offer respect to everyone where they can will teach them about knowing when to be responsible. When you see your child misbehave, tell them how that should change. This doesn’t mean you should lecture them, more it should be that your child ought to be directed into improving their behaviour. Guide them through this process by role playing, or having more open and honest conversations with your child.
Similarly, if your child is following your guidance, you should aim to offer praise or a reward for their good behaviour. Whether it’s being kind to their brother or sister, offering to carry shopping into the house or making a cup of tea, they’re all acts of kindness that your child can follow easily. Even a simple thank you can help children feel welcome and happier to complete tasks for you. For even greater acts of kindness, a reward is encouraged, to help them feel confident in what they’re doing and how they can do better.
The vast majority of children’s stories are about teaching kids good morals, which is why picking up books regularly will guide your child through understanding compassion. There are lots of ways your child’s favourite stories can impact their decisions through life, whether it’s fictional or based on true life. These all help children with their development, building kindness and improving their self-esteem as a result. Not only that, but children develop their creativity and inquisitiveness through the art of reading on a regular basis – further developing their awareness and decision making skills.