Empathy is, in its simplest form, awareness of other people’s feelings and emotions. It is a key element of emotional intelligence, the bond between self and others, as this is how we, as individuals, understand what others are experiencing as if we felt it ourselves. Empathy goes beyond sympathy, what could be considered “feeling for someone.”
Empathy, on the other hand, is “feeling with” that person, through imagination (putting ourselves in their place). It is the quality that underlies love, care and compassion. Teaching teenagers to care for others and be empathetic will help them establish good social relationships. In this Psychology-Online article, we show you some ways to work empathy in adolescents.
Empathy can be defined as the ability to differentiate between your own feelings and those of another person. It’s about being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and see things from their perspective, as well as regulate your own emotional responses. Empathy is a primary factor in the development of .
It may seem like these skills are adult social skills. However, adults can have problems with them. For example, some people may refuse to help others who are in need not because they lack empathy but because they may not have the ability to adequately deal with their own emotional reactions to certain situations.
The answer to this question is “Yeah”. Empathy is a skill that can be learned and we can encourage its development. Furthermore, there are various degrees of empathy, and with practice, we can strengthen it. For adolescents, being able to develop empathy is a crucial step in their development because improves social skills and your ability to care for others.
Some studies have shown that a lack of empathy is a possible risk factor for the development of antisocial behaviors such as bullying or . When the person who produces this type of behavior is not able to recognize or identify the situation in which the victim finds himself and does not feel guilt or shame, he will not see any reason to change and will continue to carry out that type of behavior. Hence the importance of cultivating this skill.
Although there are also dynamics to practice empathy in adults, here we will focus on specific exercises to work on it in adolescents. These are the best dynamics:
1. Develop a secure attachment with your teenager
When a child or adolescent’s emotional needs are addressed and met, adolescents are more likely to show empathy and help others who are in danger. As a parent, you can work to develop a relationship with your child. It is important that you show him that he can count on you when he needs emotional and physical support. Research shows that children who have parents who help them cope with negative emotions in a compassionate and problem-solving way are more likely to show concern for other children, that is, to be more empathetic.
2. Remember that your child is an independent individual
Treat your child as an independent person with a mind and interests of his own. Talk about his emotions and help him understand how feelings, desires, and emotions can influence behavior. You can teach him to recognize and label his feelings, as well as those he has observed in others, by modeling verbal expression.
For example, when you communicate with your child you can talk about your own feelings, this way you will be providing him with appropriate language to express emotions. Additionally, you can use reflective listening to help him label the feelings of others by asking questions like “you seem a little angry today, has something happened?” This will help you recognize your feelings and the importance of expressing them.
3. Models empathetic behavior and induces feelings of sympathy
As parents, we can take advantage of everyday opportunities to point out situations in which empathy is necessary. We can generate sympathetic responses in our children. For example, watching a movie or a television series we can see scenes in which there is bullying or cruel behavior. We can use these situations to ask you how you may feel. the victim. By doing this, we’re taking things a step further because we’re not just labeling feelings, we’re also helping to recognize opportunities where we can care about other people’s emotional needs, brainstorming different ways to help.
4. Help you put yourself in the other’s shoes
When adolescents identify or feel that another person is similar to them, they are more likely to feel empathy for that person. Therefore, one way to teach them to develop their empathic skills It would be to help them discover what they have in common with other people. Furthermore, this is very important in a society like today’s where new technologies raise debates about the line that distances the real from the imaginary and there are rarely direct consequences for certain actions. The more we can humanize the victim’s anguish, the more empathy they will develop.
These are just some ways to How to teach empathy to teenagers. In addition to teaching them to strengthen their empathic skills, we must also give them the opportunity to put them into practice. As parents, you can be helped to identify places where you can have the opportunity to work directly with people in need, allowing you to begin to empathize with those people and further strengthen your empathic development.
If you want to enhance these dynamics to work on empathy, books are a good resource to achieve this. Don’t miss the opportunity to read, an empowering book that confirms the fundamental role that empathy plays and compassion in these turbulent times, so full of selfishness and separation.