Why is empathy important in child development? Experts agree that empathy is an important tool for children to have in their emotional toolbox. Empathy is important because it can help people build connection, regulate emotion, and promote helping behaviours. For kids, empathy can prevent bullying, help them make friends, and help them receive help from others. Children learn empathy both from watching us and from experiencing our empathy for them. When we empathize with our children they develop trusting, secure attachments with us. Those attachments are key to their wanting to adopt our values and to model our behaviour, and therefore to building their empathy for others. Imagine your beloved dog is dying. You try to keep her happy and comfortable for as long as possible, but a day comes when she is in too much pain to enjoy her life. You take her to the vet and have her put to sleep. This is a choice made out of empathy.

Yogita Parihar

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