How to raise a kind and compassionate child

Parents want all the best things for their children, and it is something everybody can agree on and unify all parents. Everybody wants their children to be kind, loving, gentle and compassionate. Like many other things, being kind and empathetic is a quality that children learn over time and through practice. So, what parents should do to help children grow up to be the kind generation of the future? To help you out, experts from Montessori Torrance, CA is here to share the essential tips.

Lead by example:
Be kind to others and treat each other with love and respect. To teach your child you should embody strong morals and values and stand up for what is right. They should understand everybody is unique and celebrate the differences in people. Praise if someone is showing kindness and explain to your kids why their act of kindness matters. Parents are the greatest teacher for their children and actions speak louder than words.

Acts of love:
Ba a compassionate parent first. Try to be gentle whenever your kids or others make any mistake and practice forgiveness. You should always try to respond to your children’s needs with love and care so that they understand someone is always there to take care of them always even at the difficult situations. They also learn to trust you and through these warm interactions, they develop a sense of belonging as a human being who deserves to be loved and cared for. Kids consider you as their role model for how to care about other people. Children who are confident about themselves will show kindness towards others.

Being respectful:
Montessori Torrance, CA teachers train their students to be respectful with others. You can explain them calling someone names or excluding somebody from play can be as hurtful as hitting. If you hear your child calling someone with names (like 'tom-tom nose' or anything derogatory) while playing, you should go right into the problem-solving mode with both the children. They may be doing it for fun, but it is your responsibility to let him realize that the other boy may feel sad. It is important to make sure the boy who has been called the name is not feeling offended and encourage your child to apologize.

Encourage helping:
Parents' positive response to their children's smallest efforts to help somebody, promote more helping behaviors when the little ones are first learning these skills. You can encourage your kiddos to help you around the house in the following ways:

  • Sweeping floors
  • Putting clothes in the washing machine
  • Keeping toys in its place
  • Bringing some items from the local shops etc.
Learning 'feelings vocabulary':
You can spend some time every day with your little ones pointing out different expressions and giving them a name – happy, sad, angry, etc. You can ask Montessori Torrance, CA teachers to help you make some ‘feelings vocabulary' flashcards. When you read books together, you can encourage your children to identify the emotions of the characters in the story.

Kindness and compassion are the two important values that will help children going forward in their life. Hence, you need to be consistent and patient with your little ones while helping them develop these values.