{"id":16088,"date":"2020-09-22T20:08:05","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T19:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dide.org\/developing-empathy-in-childhood-emotional-education\/"},"modified":"2020-09-22T20:08:05","modified_gmt":"2020-09-22T19:08:05","slug":"developing-empathy-in-childhood-emotional-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dide.org\/en\/developing-empathy-in-childhood-emotional-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing empathy in childhood: Emotional education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although it may seem like a very common word, according to the American sociologist Jeremy Rifkin, empathy is actually a very new concept in the vocabulary of any human language spoken until now, and it only began to be used in 1909.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are other concepts that have been used, such as compassion, altruism, sympathy, but they do not reach the meaning of empathy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Empathy is the cognitive, emotional, and affective ability of the individual in which they are able to put themselves in the emotional situation of another.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Its origin is from the Greek “emp\u00e1theia”, it is a capacity or skill that develops gradually throughout life, and that improves the greater the contact one has with the person one empathizes with.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How can we educate our children in developing the skill of empathy?<\/h2>\n

Children up to the age of two have egocentric empathy<\/strong>. Between the ages of three and four, they begin to show empathy towards the feelings of others<\/strong>. From the final period of childhood and with possible evolution throughout life, empathy towards the vital circumstances of the other<\/strong> is perceived. <\/span><\/p>\n

In this last phase, the feelings of others are conceived, not only as reactions of the moment, but as expressions of their general life experience. The understanding of feelings goes beyond the here and now, and allows the adoption of other people’s perspectives, however different they may be from one’s own. It depends on the knowledge or information about the lives of other people and the capacity for emotional self-regulation. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Empathy is important to the extent that it motivates prosocial behavior and inhibits aggressive behavior.<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Three conditions are necessary for the development of empathy in our children:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. That they have their own positive personal experiences.<\/strong> The child can learn simply by observing the interactions of other people, and the way in which parents relate to the child is of great importance in this. A prior manifestation of empathy towards the child is essential in the formation of empathy. <\/span><\/li>\n
  2. That they are aware of their own emotions and feelings.<\/strong> The person who can understand what is happening to them at a specific moment will be able to better understand the feelings of another person. In a small child it is something complex since they cannot even recognize their own feelings and express them, that is why the role of parents is important to help them express what they feel. <\/span>First, children must recognize their own emotions. To do this, it is very useful to name feelings as often as possible. Identifying emotions is the first step to recognizing them and being able to manage them. <\/span>Once children begin to know what it is like to be angry, sad, happy, scared, nervous… they can talk about their emotional state and identify the causes that produce it.<\/span>\n

    There is a very widespread tendency to try to avoid at all costs that children suffer, get bored or cry with phrases such as \u00abdon’t cry anymore\u00bb or \u00abdon’t get angry about that nonsense\u00bb. Without being aware, what we are doing is prohibiting them from experiencing and expressing their feelings. <\/span><\/p>\n

    All emotions, both positive and negative, fulfill their function and it is necessary to validate them<\/strong>. All of them help us to manifest what we feel, to vent and to express ourselves as human beings. <\/span><\/p>\n

    To learn, grow and evolve, crying is as important as laughter. Children exploring and understanding their own emotions can understand those of others. Only in this way will they learn to behave in a way that they do not have to harm other people (or themselves). It is equally necessary to let them feel the emotion, as it is to provide them with accompaniment without limiting or restricting their process. Learning to regulate emotions is fundamental since, if not, the child learns to regulate emotionally incorrectly, for example, resorting to <\/span>
    \nothers to regulate and calm them.<\/span><\/li>\n

  3. That they have an understanding of what the other person feels.<\/strong> The last stage consists of being aware of what another person \u201cmay\u201d feel. Empathy is not possible if you do not know exactly what the other person feels, that is why it is important to talk to our children, and that the various situations that arise in life are discussed, or even a peculiar situation that we have seen in a movie, on a television program… <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Children learn from what they see, it is convenient that as adults we develop our empathy and show it to the little ones <\/span><\/h2>\n

    The values and the way of acting of the closest adults are transmitted to children without us realizing it.<\/span><\/p>\n