By Vivian Manning-Schaffel — 2018
Our brains may be wired to empathize more with people who look like us, but being more empathetic starts with just listening.
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Even for a psychologist who studies how kids understand racism and violence, talking to her own children about it is difficult.
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“You’re always communicating about race, whether you talk about it or not.”
As a marriage dissolves, some parents find themselves asking questions like, “Should we stay together for the kids?” Other parents find divorce is their only option.
It’s hard to see a child unhappy. Whether a child is crying over the death of a pet or the popping of a balloon, our instinct is to make it better, fast. That’s where too many parents get it wrong, says the psychologist Susan David, author of the book “Emotional Agility.
Empathy is divided into cognitive, emotional and applied empathy, all of which are valuable. For empathy to truly be useful to the human condition, our kids must have applied empathy, or compassion.
An excerpt from Judith Orloff’s "The Empath’s Survival Guide."
Considering how to make the children in our lives better people helps us reflect on how we ourselves can be more compassionate.
Raising an empathetic and kind kid is a beautiful thing, but it’s also important to prepare kids for the real world.
Children are hard-wired for empathy, but it needs to be gently brought to life. Adults are in a prime position to nurture and develop empathy and emotional wisdom in their children.
What can parents do to help especially sensitive children learn to manage their emotions and cope?