How to Raise a Caring Child
When you see your two-year-old child refusing to share their toys, hitting another child and pulling on the dog’s ears, you wonder if you will ever be able to get them to understand the concepts of kindness and caring. The trouble is at this age, the whole world revolves around them and they think everything is theirs for the taking. The truth is that children are not born with the concept of caring, it has to be taught. Here are some strategies for instilling kindness in your child.
• Your child is capable of being kind but that capability needs to be nurtured. We do that from the beginning by cuddling and kissing those boo boos. Children eventually will begin to return those affections to you and others.
• Parents provide the best role model for a child when it comes to compassion. What you do and say is critical; let your child catch you in the act of kindness, such as offering comforting words to another child when they are upset, taking soup to a sick friend or helping your elderly neighbor with their yard work.
• Teach your child what different facial expressions mean. There are books out there to help with this. You can look at pictures of other children and say “Look he looks sad” and give explanations as to why the child might be sad. This is the first step in learning how to understand another's perspective.
• Teach your child how to be polite. Not only can you teach them to say please, thank you and excuse me, but also you can point out when others are being rude in every day life. And teach them they don’t have to be rude in return just because someone might be having a bad day.
• Be sure to show your child that you notice when someone does something nice and especially when they do something nice. For example, you can tell them that it was very nice of them to share their toys with the other kids or it was very nice of another child to share with them.
• How many times have you wanted to crawl under a table when your child has said something inappropriate about someone else when you are out? It is important to understand that young children notice differences in people just as they notice differences in colors and shapes. If your child says something inappropriate about someone such as “Wow, he’s big!” Then it is important to explore that comment calmly. First ask them why they said it and then correct the misunderstanding.
• Be aware of what your child watches on television as children are likely to imitate things they see. Make sure your child is watching “good” programs.
• Explain that calling someone names or excluding him from play can be as hurtful as hitting. Point out how upset this makes other children feel and how they would feel if they were treated this way. Make sure they apologize to the other child and mean it.
• Show your child how to help those in need by donating items or helping those in need and encourage them to do the same.
• Try and be a patient and caring parent and eventually your children will grow up to be kind and caring individuals.
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Print Article | Download PDF | 9 views | Jul 13 2008
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