Teaching Empathy

We all want our children to be happy. But, how do you teach or encourage our children to be happy? New brain science teaches us that social connectedness and doing things for others help develop important neural pathways that create the foundation for strong relationships. In turn, caring relationships are a far better predictor of happiness than anything else, including wealth and fame.

So, if we want our kids to be happy, we need to teach them how to be a good friend. If we want to teach them how to be a good friend, we need to teach them how to trust and understand other people. The best way to teach these ideas to our kids is to teach them about empathy.

One of my favorite ways to teach anything is using stories. There are a number of wonderful children’s books that focus on empathy that can be a good way to talk through these ideas. The following is a list of books that focus on developing empathy in children.

Last Stop on Market Street written by Matt de la Pena and illustrated by Christian Robinson

Tight Times written by Barbara Snook Hazen and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

The Spiffiest Giant in Town written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Sam and the Lucky Money written by Karen Chinn and Cornelius Van Wright, illustrated by Yong-Haw Hu

A Chair for my Mother written and illustrated by Vera B. Williams

Those Shoes written by Maribeth Boalts, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones

Each Kindness written by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

Zen Ties (Zen series) written and illustrated by Jon J. Muth

How Dalia Put a Big Yellow Comforter Inside a Tiny Blue Box: And Other Wonders of Tzedakah written by Linda Heller illustrated by Stacey Dresden McQueen

Rude Cakes written and illustrated by Rowboat Watkins