Developing

and
Enhancing
Empathy
among
Children
EMPATHY
● the ability to perceive the
emotions, needs, and desires of
another person
● being able to be in the shoes of
another person and feel what
that is like to be in his/her
situation
● the ability to “care for others”
Empathy
the ability to feel what others
feel (joy, pain, anxiety, etc)
Compassion
the ability to feel the pain of
another person (empathy),
recognize and understand
that another person is in pain
(sympathy), and do
something at his/her best to
alleviate the person’s
suffering
Empathy Development in Childhood
Other People’s Other Life
Global Egocentrism
Feeling Condition
● a child doesn’t ● child is aware ● a child is aware ● the feelings of
perceive others the others also that the feelings others are
as distinct from experience they experience expressions of
themselves unpleasant are different their general life
● does what situations from other experience
he/she would do ● they assume people’s ● they react
if put in another that the ● they respond to differently to
person’s experience of these painful situations
situation others is the experiences in because the
same as their an unselfish way consider the
experience general condition
of others
How to Develop
Empathy
How to Develop Empathy

Help kids develop a moral identity.

● Acknowledge and praise good deeds
● Encourage learners to repeat good deeds
● Recognize that they are good rather than just someone
who does something good
How to Develop Empathy

Provide a “do-over.”
● Call attention to uncaring behavior
● Assess how uncaring affects others, helping kids to
understand another’s perspective.
● Repair the hurt and make amends.
● Express disappointment for uncaring behavior, while
stressing expectations for caring behavior in the future.
How to Develop Empathy

Encourage empathy through stories.

● Build their empathy muscles through play-acting, reading
books that let them get inside characters’ minds, and
watching inspiring movies
● Feature diversity
● Ask questions on how would they feel and do if they are in
that situation
How to Develop Empathy

Examine your values.

● Ask yourself, what do you value more, compassion or
achievement?
● Learners look up to the grown ups
● What you show to them is perceived as “what is right”
How to Develop Empathy

Help kids finds their inner hero.

● Set a good example of standing up for others ourselves
● Teach them how to effectively say no to a bully and diffuse
bullying situations
● Make them aware of how peers can support each other
Empathy Map: Think, Feel, Say, Do
1. Draw a circle at the center of the board and label it “our class”.
2. Divide the board into four quadrants, labeled: Think, Feel, Say,
Do.
3. Each student receives four post-it notes. Ask students to write
down one emotion they sometimes feel, a thought they
connect to that emotion, an action they take when they have
that feeling, and something they might say.
4. Each student takes turns posting on the board. Set the tone at
the start of the activity to ensure active, compassionate
listening.