Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of someone else. Wondering how you can encourage kindness and empathy in your child? As a parent, there are several things you can do to promote positive behavior. Explore fun ways to help your child become more empathetic, inclusive, and kind towards others.
How to Raise a Caring Child
How to Raise a Caring Child
When we lead by example and address the barriers to kindness, we help our kids learn to make caring choices.
Help Kids Be More Empathetic By Caring for Others
Empathy is a skill that children can develop through caring interactions with plants, animals and younger siblings. Try some of these ideas to help your child develop this important skill.
Play Pretend: Practice Including Others
Using imaginary play, you can help your child work through the disappointment of being excluded — and learn to include others!
Encouraging Your Child to Become a "Helper"
Learn how you can encourage your child become a helper and develop responsibility.
How to Teach Your Child to Be An "Includer"
Relational aggression and exclusion is all too common among children. Teach your child how to take the lead and be an “includer” among peers.
Raising Includers: 5 Tips to Help Your Kids Be Kind and Compassionate
When kids learn to empathize with others and show compassion for their peers, being an “includer” becomes automatic. Here are five ways to help your child learn to include others.
Fun Ways to Build Empathy
Talking About Compassion with Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum
Being kind and caring to the people around you is how you show compassion. Watch this video from Xavier Riddle and then talk about what happened in the video.
Kindness Bingo
Play this game of Kind Acts Bingo to celebrate kindness this month!
Empathy-Building Books for Kids
Stories you can share and talk about to help kids discover how listening can show that you care.
7 Ways for Kids to Learn Empathy Through Acting
Although acting may just seem like a fun game to your kids, it’s also giving them amazing practice at understanding emotions and developing empathy.
How Media Can Build Empathy in Young Children
Explore Arthur’s interactive comic “So Funny I Forgot to Laugh” and find recommended books that help kids understand and develop empathy.
Elmo's World Kindness Bingo
Every time your child does an act of kindness, circle it!
Building Empathy With Wild Kratts
When kids care for living things — from babies to animals to plants — they exercise their empathy muscles and learn through experience that everything has needs.
How “Daniel Tiger’s Grr-ific Feelings” App Helps Kids Learn
Children play in many ways. Research shows that kids who played with the “Daniel Tiger’s Grr-ific Feelings” app exhibited higher levels of controlling and recognizing emotions.
Raising Kind Children: Starting at Home
How to Foster Positive Sibling Relationships
In fostering the sibling relationship, parents teach young children to show empathy and compassion for others.
Managing Your Own Emotions: The Key to Positive, Effective Parenting
It's important to manage our feelings because how we respond to our kids deeply affects their ability for self-regulation, self-control, and overall emotional health.
Choosing Chores: Everyone Can Be a Helper
15 min activityChildren can be helpers too! Talk about ways that your child can help around the house and create a weekly chore chart for your family.
Creating an Emotionally Supportive Home Environment
Children need a safe space to share and a calming guide to listen and empathize. Follow these tips for how you can build an emotionally supportive home for your family.
Turning Sibling Rivalry Into Sibling Revelry
Rather than shutting down every conflict that comes our kids' way, here are a few tips for increasing the fun they have together instead!
The Timeless Teachings of Mister Rogers
Mister Rogers offered children lessons about empathy, emotions, and growing up – and he also offered parents simple strategies for helping their children grow and thrive.
Celebrating Diversity
Expanding Your Child's Circle of Concern
Learn tips for helping children expand their circle of concern to include those those who look, sound, or behave differently than they do.
Learning to Appreciate Diversity Through Play
Children will explore similarities and differences between themselves and others.
How to Teach Children About Cultural Awareness and Diversity
Use these tips to spark your children's curiosity about who they (and others) are in their world.
Put on a Folktale Play
Listen to folktales from around the world to help your child begin to understand cultures that are different from their own.
Talking to Kids: Families Come In All Shapes and Sizes
It's normal for kids to be curious about families. Here's how you can talk to them about all the different kinds of families in your neighborhood.
11 Picture Books to Celebrate Diversity
This list of books featuring diverse characters and highlighting the importance of diversity in communities is a great way to start conversations about diversity with your young children.