We all agree that we should teach our little one techniques to relate better. Learning to understand the emotions of those around us, managing situations correctly and understanding what is happening around us are basic pillars that we must develop if we want to live in society.
In the same way that we teach them to read and write, we can also give children guidelines to work on their emotional intelligence. One of the key elements of emotional intelligence is empathy, this is defined as the ability to put ourselves in the shoes of others and understand their emotions. If you want to know more about how to develop this ability in the little ones, we invite you to continue reading this Psychology-Online article, in it you will find the best Activities and games to work on empathy in children.
The importance of working on empathy
As we have mentioned before, it is necessary to teach boys and girls, from a young age, to understand other people’s emotions. All (or almost all) of our daily situations are characterized by being full of social interactions. Therefore, it is important to know how to relate to others and avoid interpersonal conflicts.
Empathy allows us to act taking other people into account. In addition, developing empathy also strengthens our personal development, improves and promotes self-esteem.
A child without empathy is a child without social skills and with very little emotional intelligence. Children without empathy can develop dangerous pathologies, such as, and, in very extreme cases, they can reach adulthood with psychopathic personality traits.
To prevent children from growing up without this valuable ability, we can provide them with tools so that, little by little, they learn to deduce emotional states of the person they are talking to. These tools evolve as children grow, this is because there are certain activities that arouse more or less interest depending on the evolutionary stage of the children.
How to teach empathy to children
The first step in teaching a boy or girl to be empathetic is to show empathy towards him or her. When we are little, We learn through observation of older people, we call this. Therefore, if they see that we behave with others taking their emotions into account, they will probably do the same with their circle of friends, at school, with other family members…
What is empathy for children?
We must keep in mind that their concept of empathy is slightly different from ours. During First years of life, babies act on instinct since they have not yet properly developed the proper tools to relate. Later, the little ones begin to understand that other people feel too emotions, they even have a life and live it with the same intensity as them. Between 10 and 12 years old, children are already capable of doing the exercise of put yourself in the other’s place and understand your feelings more easily.
For the development of empathy to occur correctly, the child must be helped to grow with these values and ideas. Providing tools to work on empathy is a fundamental step in the child’s growth within her environment.
Communication: the basis of empathy
A very valuable tool to foster (and with it, empathy) is good communication. We must make the child understand how important other people’s emotions are through calm speech without arguments.
When you ask us for advice, or we see that you are involved in a conflict with another person, we can help you with advice that works on your emotional education, for example: telling you to listen to what the other person has to say, not to act out of anger, that is not selfish with others… In short, promote emotional intelligence through speech.
Listening to their problems also helps you notice the importance of listening to others. As the years go by, the little boy or girl will probably appreciate the good communication he had with us.
How to work on empathy in the classroom
The little ones spend much of their time at school, surrounded by other children and teachers. If we want to encourage good development of their empathy, we have to ensure that they also work on it in the classroom. Some of the guidelines to do so are as follows:
- Group activities: These types of dynamics help the child to broaden his or her point of view and listen to other opinions. When playing games or activities with other people, children have to act taking others into account in order to carry out the activity correctly. In this way, they practice empathy through something rewarding and fun.
- Resources and sheets: Another type of dynamic to work on empathy are cards and theoretical resources (a story or a written exercise about empathy). This approach is also important. Although it is not certainly a recreational activity, the child can learn a lot.
- Talks: We can explain the importance of empathy in children in the form of a talk. This can be something very enriching, especially for older children with more capacity for reflection. It is also important that the students participate in these talks. In this way, we will achieve interaction on your part and greater active attention in the conversation.
- Individual tutorials: Speaking personally with children can strengthen the bond between students and teachers. Furthermore, it is a very suitable guideline to promote empathy, since we are showing the child the importance of listening and being listened to.
Activities and Games to develop empathy in children
The following activities are designed to apply and work on empathic capacity in a group. They are simple exercises and are aimed at all ages, but they tend to be most effective for children between 6 and 12 years old. It is advisable that there be a facilitator or companion adult during the dynamics to control and make sure everything is going well.
The spiderweb
This dynamic is one of the most used to meet new people. In it, we only need a ball of wool and the entire group of boys and girls sit in a circle. The facilitator begins, takes the ball, says his name out loud and a characteristic of his that defines him, for example:
- My name is Pablo and I really like to draw.
Next, take one end of the thread and pass the ball to a child at random so that he or she can do the same and so on. At the end of all the presentations, a spider web will have formed between all the children that represents the union between them.
Draw your partner
Another game to work on empathy in children is the following: it consists of each child writing their name on a piece of paper. Afterwards, the facilitator collects all the papers and randomly assigns a name to each child. He will have to draw his partner and make a short description of her character next to him. Afterwards, each drawing will be given to the corresponding child.
The main objective of this dynamic is to exercise the ability to represent other people in a role, to define someone’s character and to check if the other person sees themselves reflected in what has been created of them.
The shoe game
This is another simple game to exercise the ability to put ourselves in the shoes of others. It consists of sitting all the children in a circle and having them put on the shoes of the one on their right. In this way, we symbolize the expression of “get in the other’s shoes“. Next, each child will have to answer some questions that the facilitator will ask, but with the condition that they respond according to what the child on their right would say (that is, the classmate who lent them the shoes). For example: If the facilitator asks a child what his favorite color is, he will have to answer according to what he thinks his partner would say.
Songs about emotions
A very recurring activity in this type of dynamics is to learn, together, a song related to emotions. With this, children practice a group activity and, at the same time, see how others talk about emotions without any problem.
The box of feelings
This dynamic is not exactly a game. It consists of leaving a box with cards next to it so that the children can write down the discomforts they have felt throughout the day. At the end of the day, each child will read a random paper and propose a solution or a pleasant comment to alleviate the other person’s problem.
These activities combine play with emotional learning. We must remember that play is the vehicle with which the little ones learn and integrate the values that, later, will serve them in their mature lives to be better people and foster better interpersonal relationships.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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