Our current historical moment shows that we need empathy now more than ever. We all understand the importance of empathy in child development, but the fact remains: teaching kids empathy is hard!
According to early learning experts, “In the early years of life, young children are naturally ego-centric and are very much inclined to think mostly about themselves and their immediate needs.
Young children need to be guided as they learn to think about the needs and perspectives of others, i.e. you’ve got to teach your kid to think about others before himself.
This is where parents, teachers, and anyone who spends time with young children come in. And we would be remiss if we didn’t say that this process is HARD, y’all.
Teaching your child to value the feelings and needs of others is not an easy task. After all, they were born only thinking of their own most primal needs: eating, pooping, and sleeping.