To Nurture Compassionate Children, Start At Birth

Parents, caregivers and teachers often focus on teaching children to speak, to read and even to play. We also need to focus on helping to build children’s capacity for compassion, empathy and constructive experiences with others. These are called social-emotional skills, and they are vital to children’s success in school and life. Thankfully, every adult in children’s lives can help them build these skills – right from the start.  Children’s earliest experiences meaningfully shape who they are. From the moment they’re born, parents and caregivers can help children build a strong social-emotional foundation through their nurturing and loving relationships, including through their everyday routines and moments when they talk, read and sing together. All learning is interconnected, and the earlier we start, the better off all children will be. A new report from Too Small to Fail highlights how critical early social-emotional experiences, starting from birth, are to all aspects of a child’s development. Researchers have found when parents and caregivers talk about their babies’ experiences and what they’re feeling with them in nurturing and supportive ways, we strengthen their ability not only to learn, but also to recognize and understand their feelings and actions, and how these affect others.  We also help them develop their ability to express thoughts, communicate feelings, and demonstrate positive behaviors whic...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news