Take-Home - Empathy - ECE Resource Hub

TAKE-HOME STRATEGY

Fostering Empathy at Home

What It's About

Empathy means thinking about how someone else is feeling. It also involves responding to others’ needs, feelings, and emotions with kindness.

You can support your child’s understanding of Empathy by talking about how others are feeling and showing how to care for others. Talk about a variety of different perspectives with your child to help them learn about and consider others’ feelings.

Here are some ways you can support Empathy at home. Keep in mind that you can change these activities to work for you and your child based on their current abilities, interests, and what you have available at home. Make sure to use safe materials and watch your child closely during these activities.

Take a look, and try out your favorites!

How Do They Feel?

Create a chart showing different feelings by putting pictures/drawings of emotions on a piece of paper. Talk about how a person might be feeling as you look at the feelings chart.

Caring Routines

Let your child help you take care of something in your home. This could be a pet, plant, or even a toy. Talk about the care it needs and let your child come along or help as you provide care. For example, they can help hold a watering can as you water a plant.

Acts of Kindness

Encourage your child to do kind things for others. This could include waving to someone when they enter a room, helping clean-up, or sharing a favorite toy with a sibling. Point out these kind acts.

Draw a Picture

Draw pictures with your child of different emotions (like happy, sad, excited, frustrated, scared). Talk about when these emotions may happen as you draw.

Act it Out!

Using puppets, dolls, or figurines, act out different events. Point out how the puppets are feeling as you play. Talk about what you could do to help them feel better.

Read Books

Books are a great way to talk about others’ feelings and needs. As you are reading books, point out the emotions of the characters. Pause and talk about why the character(s) may be feeling that way.

Quick Cues for Supporting Empathy at Home

Some things you might do or say to help strengthen your child’s Empathy skills

Point Out Empathy

Talk about your own or others’ acts of empathy.

This can sound like:

“They are upset. I am rocking them to help them feel better!”

“I think you are feeling sad that your friend went home. Can I sit with you for a while?”

“They have a lot of work to do. That can be frustrating. I am going to offer to help.”

Consider Others' Needs and Feelings

Help your child to consider how others are feeling.

This can sound like:

“They’re crying – I see tears. I wonder if it’s because they can’t reach their blanket.”

“The baby in our book looks like they are sad. I wonder what could be bothering them?”

“How do you think they felt when they dropped their ice cream?”

Provide Care for Others

Encourage your child to show acts of kindness and provide care to others around them.

This can sound like:

“You handed me the diaper! Thank you so much. You are a great helper.”

“The dog looks hungry. Do you think it will feel better if we feed it?”

“It was kind of you to help them up when they tripped!”

Our Book Recommendations for Empathy

Engaging stories that support children's Empathy skills

Hooray for Hat!

Written and illustrated by Brian Won, this delightful story shows how a simple act of kindness can brighten up someone else’s day by showing we care.

Have fun with it:
Ask your child what makes them feel better when they’re grumpy – and share what makes you feel better too!

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead, this is the story of an empathetic zookeeper and his friendship with some of the animals at the zoo.

Have fun with it:
Name some different emotions, then brainstorm with your child about the kind ways you could react when a friend shows those feelings.

More Take-Home Strategies

We’re creating a library of resources like these so families and other caregivers can quickly and easily promote children’s development at home. Be sure to see all the strategies we have available!