Teaching empathy and working on apologies by Shelley Heaphy

I’m so sick of the fake, low-volumed, avoided eye contact “I’m sorry’s” between the kiddos. There have been a lot of those around here lately, and with a full summer together at home, I feel like it’s time to nip it in the bud! What are some tips to teaching children the proper apology and how can we make them feel empathetic towards others? When I get frustrated with rudeness, or one of my children not showing empathy towards others, I try to remind myself that even as adults, we are always learning and fine tuning things like being empathetic with others. I’m a much different person than I was as a teenager; which goes to show that hopefully, your character is always growing. Equally, kids are even more so trying to find the proper way to show kindness towards others. I like to refer to this learning process as baby steps towards the larger goal of being a productive member of society! Here’s some of what I found.
Modeling kindness: this is one thing we have to do. Be kind to others, smile, wave, perform kind gestures…everything we do they watch (and hopefully pick up!) So model the way we want them to behave! We’ve all experienced the encounter that wasn’t so warm, where someone’s been rude for whatever reason. Use these moments as teachable moments – together brainstorm why that person may be having a bad day, how they could’ve handled the situation differently, and forgive them for the encounter.