It Starts With Receiving

Children give empathy after they have gotten it. Each time you take their feelings seriously instead of waving them off, you are showing them the move from the inside. They cannot hand out what they have never been given. A few easy practices:

• Highs and lows at dinner: everyone shares their best and hardest moment.
• Notice kindness aloud: "You brought your sister water without being asked."
• Read messy stories: talk about why a character did the thing they did.

One warning: do not demand empathy mid-fight. "How do you think your brother feels?" in the heat of a fight just lands as a guilt trip. Save those questions for calm moments, when the thinking brain is back online.