Parent’s University: How To Raise Compassionate Kids

Posted on 07.30.08 in General and there are 6 comments.

Welcome to another installment of Parent’s University. Feel free to join in. Just write a helpful post about parenting and add your link below (at the end of the post).

Today, in light of the final day (tomorrow) of The 40 Day Fast, we’re going to talk about ways that we can teach our children compassion.

Photo by keysofvirtue

Here are a few things that Jimmy and I do at our house to help our three Small People consider others:

1. Prayer - Whenever we hear a siren or see and ambulance or fire truck, we stop what we’re doing and the girls pray for the medics and whoever they’re trying to help.

2. Doing - Once a week we visit a local nursing home. The kids love having a chance to “perform.” They sing songs, quote their memory verses, talk and hug. It’s really been a fun time for us.

3. Sharing - We had our girls look at the Compassion website and choose a child to help. Her name is Grace and my girls talk about her and color pictures to send in our letters.

4. Giving - We also have a little jar where we put our change. When the jar is full we’ll send the money to Grace as a special gift.

These are just a few small ways we’re trying to teach compassion to our kids. Of course, the most important way is for Jimmy and I to model it. I can’t just tell them to be compassionate, I have to show them.

Your Turn

What are some other ways we can teach children to consider and care for others?

Share your thoughts on your blog (adding your link below) or here in the comments.

(And fyi - your Parent’s University post doesn’t need to be on this topic. Any parenting ideas or tips are welcome.)

The Comments:

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It’s not so much teaching my son compassion as trying to have compassion infiltrate to the core of our family...he’s only 18 months old - so all that I can do is show that “this is what we DO”.

As for that…
For the past few years (until we moved) we shared meals with a large crew of homeless people in a local park.  This resulted in many significant relationships.

Now we’re in a new town and find that we miss several of our “friends without homes” at least as much as our friends with homes.

These are great ideas.  I like the jar idea a lot. 

I feel like I need to do more in the “doing” area with my kids, but what we do do, is pray for others. When anyone we know has a birthday we pray for them in a more involved way, and of course when people are sick or need help, and for the friends we feel great full to have.  I think it’s so important to get the kids’ mindsets not only on what they have, and are great full for, but onto others, and others needs. 

We have a family member who is going through a difficult time, so I’ll ask the boys to make her a painting that would make her happy, or transpose a letter. 

they’ve helped me shop for families that we are making dinner for, with a need, or also donating some of their toys to people raising money for an adoption for a garage sale. 

We also have 2 compassion kids that we sponsor, and the boys make pictures for them, and also we look at maps of their countries, and what it might look like there.  I rented a book from the library with children of the world, showing how they live, what they wear, what they eat, etc.  and it gives them a good idea of what it might be like for them.

Very cool Kat!!

I don’t have kids yet, but I’m taking notes.

I wish I had something magical to say.... :D but I don’t!  I do however desire that my children learn to be compassionate.  This involves *trying* to model this myself towards them and towards others.  Teaching them that there are people all over the world (even in our own neighborhood) that NEED our compassion in a real tangible way (giving resources, praying, hugs, etc).  I’ve been so blessed that my kids have picked up the “compassion bug” despite the fact that I really DON’T do as much as I could to teach them about compassion.  The pray for people in need all on their own initiative and it’s so precious.  They also know that one big reason mommy and daddy are working so hard to get out of debt is so that we can use more of our money to help people instead of serving ourselves.

Hi all,

Thought I’d poke my nose in before leaving for our yearly trip camping & wakeboarding (with no internet & little cell reception - yippee!).  Now I’m all weepy after reading these posts.  They remind me of my kids when they were young.  They were so sweet and naturally compassionate.  They loved to do anything that involved me and people.  Now that they’re teens, “me” isn’t necessary and going to a nursing home is nothing they would consider.  They’re still compassionate enough, say, if you’re bleeding, but it’s amazing how self-absorbed they are now.  I call it the tunnel, and I can’t wait til they come out the other end. Now that one has a drivers permit and the other has the license, I’m thinking of making it part of the deal to drive to get involved in the local Meals on Wheels or something like that. It’s not that they’re no longer compassionate, they just don’t look for things to be compassionate about. I’m constantly telling them that it’s not all about them (just like I tell myself it’s not all about me). They did so well being “others-centered” for so long, I’m trusting it hasn’t really left them.

My husband goes to a women’s/children’s homeless shelter in Atlanta every Monday to preach.  We often take our children down to play with the kids and learn more about others.  My daughter, who is 4, recently took a bunch of her good toys and handed them out to each child.  She thought of it all by herself and she continues to have the desire to give.  I am hoping my 2 year old is learning as much from the experience as she is .

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