Friendships and social skills
How can adults teach empathy to children?
Direct answer
Help children notice another person's perspective, discuss feelings and practise caring responses. Use real situations, stories and modelling. Empathy develops over time and is more complex than requiring a child to say sorry immediately.
What this means in practice
Ask what another person may need without assuming everyone feels the same way. Pair understanding with action, such as offering help or changing an exclusionary rule. Avoid making one child publicly demonstrate distress for another child's lesson.
Practical next steps
- Discuss different perspectives.
- Model a considerate response.
- Offer an opportunity to repair harm.
Illustrative example
After a group dispute, explore how each child experienced the event and agree a fairer way to share materials.
What to keep in mind
Empathy teaching should not require a child to tolerate bullying or ignore their own boundaries.
Sources and further reading
The sources inform the explanation. Practical examples are educational illustrations, not individual clinical advice. How these answers are prepared.
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