How to Raise a Compassionate Child

It’s every parent’s goal to raise a child that is independent, intelligent, respectful and also kind to others. Feelings are complicated but an important part of socialising. They affect how we interact and approach situations as sometimes a bit of sensitivity is needed. This post was created by a private primary school in Oxfordshire and highlights the ways in which you can help your child with these interpersonal skills.

Recognising The Different Emotions

Compassion comes from understanding and sincerity towards others and their feelings. It requires emotional intelligence which is something that can be built easily through analysing everyday interactions. You can point to the different emotions that you see around you and help your child in understanding their own. This can be quite difficult to work on with children as while they can recognise emotions, it’s only later on in their development that they are able to put the pieces together and understand why people feel the way that they do.

Be an Example

Children are impressionable which means that it’s important that they are surrounded by good examples and role models. In your child’s presence, avoid being unkind towards others, even if you’re a little frustrated. Instead, set an example of how to show compassion and be supportive of those around you. That might be to offer others a hand in their time of need like an elderly neighbour who is ill for example or your partner with the dishes. There are lots of ways that you can help to make someone else’s day better and these small acts of kindness may be something that you encourage them to partake in.

Self-Compassion

Self-compassion is also important because it affects a child’s confidence and the way that they see themselves. We’re often more critical of ourselves and fail to give the same level of kindness and attention. There are lots of ways that you can teach your child to be kinder to themselves, including the way that they talk to themselves and self-care.

We hope that this post gave you some ideas. For more parenting advice like this, check out our blog.