Montessori Principles: How to Teach Empathy to Kids with Practical Tips

Raising kids in this day and age means raising children in a world where screens are unfortunately much more prominent than face-to-face interactions.

So what’s the outcome? Well, it makes teaching real emotional connections more important than ever.

Let’s put it this way - Empathy is about recognizing emotions, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, and responding with care. And these skills are gonna come a long way and help your little one learn how to handle conflict, teamwork, and relationships for their entire life.

Another thing you should understand is that it’s never too late to start teaching your little one empathy.

If you do, they’ll:

Empathy is understanding how someone else feels and caring about their emotions. People sometimes confuse empathy with kindness, but there is a difference. Kindness is an action, and empathy is a feeling.

Let’s say your little one sees a friend of theirs is sad. If they also feel sad because of it, what they’re feeling is empathy. But if they offer a hug to try and cheer them up, then they’re being kind.

When kids understand emotions first, kindness becomes a natural response, not just something they do because they’re told to.

Empathy is a simple word for quite a complicated emotion. You need to understand that it’s not just one thing and it can actually come in a couple of different forms. And if you understand these factors, you’ll be able to help your little one become more emotionally aware.

The three types of empathy are:

Montessori education isn’t just about telling kids to “be nice” or “show empathy.” No, those who follow Montessori teachings give kids the space to express empathy at their own pace, in their own way, and through daily interaction.

With this method, you can create an environment where respect, emotional intelligence, and social awareness thrive. After all, emotionally intelligent children aren’t born, they’re raised, and the Montessori approach to teaching empathy is perfect for that.

There are three things you always need to remember if you want to take this approach:

Raising your kiddos to be empathetic children and, later on, adults isn’t going to be a one-and-done thing, but thanks to fun Montessori principles, it won’t be a chore.

We all know that kids learn by watching, so the first step should always be to be a good example to your children. The way you behave teaches them more than words ever could.

If you use empathetic language and validate your child’s feelings when they’re feeling upset or overwhelmed, it will encourage them to behave in the same way. Don’t brush off their emotion, but acknowledge them and show your children that they’re in a safe space.

A simple sentence like “I know how you feel” or “I’m sorry you’re upset, would you like to talk about it?” can go a long way.

Let’s be honest, even full-grown adults can sometimes struggle with their emotions, let alone kids who are still trying to figure out what’s happening in the world around them.

However, if you create a home where emotions are talked about openly, your kids will feel more comfortable expressing their own feelings.

To do this, you can:

There are some things most people see as mundane, but can actually be a great lesson in empathy.

For example, if you have plants or pets, get your children involved in taking care of them. When they understand they’re helping to keep something alive, it will help foster responsibility and compassion.

Or let’s say, for example, you want your little one to play with their friends or siblings. With the right Montessori toys in group settings, these kids will build patience and learn about teamwork together.

And for something a little bit more simple, even something like setting the table for a meal reinforces the idea of taking care of others.

Reading by itself is a great bonding experience, and it becomes even better when you throw in a little lesson on empathy during your reading time.

Go for books that show different perspectives and ask follow-up questions like “How would you feel if…?” to encourage emotional exploration. You can even act out social scenarios so your little one can practice handling different situations.

Being kind is an everyday activity, which is why you should:

Teaching empathy at home goes beyond giving a lecture on ‘’how to be nice.’’ Actually, it’s important to make it fun so your kids can feel it. Think of it this way: if you tell your kid ‘’think about how someone else feels,’’ they will probably stare at you like you gave them a math problem to solve.

But, if you show them your own example and through activities, they’ll start to get it - even better, they’ll feel it.

Empathy walks are a fantastic way to teach your kid about how other people feel. As you stroll around, get your kid to imagine what it would be like to walk in someone else’s shoes - literally and figuratively.

‘’What do you think that person’s day is like?’’

‘’How do you think that person is feeling right now?’’

These are the questions you can ask them and see how they react. The idea is to make them observe and think about others. Plus, it’s a great way to spend some quality time together.

Another great way to get your kids to talk about feelings is to play emotion card games. It’s actually quite simple. Use flashcards with emoticons on them, you can even turn it into a matching game.

The goal here is to let your kid come up with scenarios for each emotion: happiness, sadness, anger, you name it. This is a great game to teach them how to connect emotions to real-life scenarios.

Exploring different cultures and traditions goes a long way when it comes to teaching kids about understanding others. Celebrate cultural events, try new foods, or jam out to music from different parts of the globe to show how rich and varied the world can be.

Sharing stories about different lifestyles helps your kids see beyond their own experience and encourages respect for others - because understanding different cultures is the first step to embracing them.

Enough talk; we’re now focusing on hands-on ways to show your kids that empathy goes beyond feelings. The first and most obvious thing to do is to organize neighborhood clean-ups.

Or, you can gather up some old toys and donate them to other kids. This teaches social responsibility and actually focuses on the power of giving back.

Parenthood has never been easy. Each generation of parents faces new challenges, and this one is no different. When you’re trying to teach your kids empathy in today’s modern age, you’ll run into some roadblocks here and there, but don’t worry because you will overcome them.

So, what are those challenges?

Being a parent in this day and age means that it’s almost impossible to keep kids away from screens all the time, however, if you understand how screen time affects children, you can regulate it.

You don’t have to ban screens altogether, but what you can do is:

We’re all busy in our everyday lives, but that’s no excuse not to find the time to teach empathy, even with the little things.

You can:

Kids can be a little selfish, that’s a normal part of growing up. As a parent, it’s your job to help them move beyond that kind of thinking.

You can do that by:

Even though empathy is something we all build when we’re very young, it still goes way beyond just being a childhood skill. If you raise a kind and empathetic child, as an adult, they’ll be able to: