We all know children can be taught to throw a ball, sing a song, learn a rhyme, read and write, but can they be taught and guided to develop the qualities of character that are valued by their families and communities? Absolutely! Through guidance and modeling by caring parents, teachers and other adults, children learn to be honest and thoughtful, to stand up for their principles, to care about others, to act responsibly and to make sound moral choices.

Character is a set of qualities, or values, that shape our thoughts, actions, reactions and feelings. People with strong character

• show compassion,
• are honest and fair,
• display self-discipline in setting and meeting goals,
• make good judgments,
• show respect to others,
• show courage in standing up for beliefs,
• have a strong sense of responsibility,
• are good citizens who are concerned for their community, and
• maintain self-respect.

Babies may begin to cry when they hear other sounds of crying, and coo and laugh when they hear others making happy sounds. By the age of three, many children will make an effort to hug or comfort another child or a parent who seems upset. As children grow, compassion can guide their actions and behaviors in positive ways. They understand that by doing something wrong, they cause others pain or unhappiness.

How to help your child be compassionate

We can promote compassion by helping our children think about how others feel. For example, if your child says or does something hurtful to another child, help him to focus his attention on the feelings of the other child by saying kindly, “How do you think Zack feels? Would you like to feel like that?” Children develop compassion by practicing acts of caring and kindness towards others. As adults, we need to emphasize the importance of helping others, giving others the benefit of the doubt and being open to differences.

What You Can Do to help your child

• Talk about the point of view of others as you watch TV, read books or discuss other people with your child. For example, ask, “What do you think that character is feeling and thinking?”
• Be compassionate and show empathy yourself; show care toward others, such as doing errands for sick neighbors or opening doors for others.
• Give others the benefit of the doubt. If your child is upset that another child took her toy. Explain that sometimes younger children don’t do things to deliberately hurt someone or make someone angry. Sometimes they just don’t understand that it’s not o.k. yet.
• Be open to differences. If your child says “Our new neighbors dress funny,” explain that people often wear clothes that reflect their cultures or native countries.
• Get and care for a pet. Any pet will do. Or help take care of a neighbor’s pet.

The post Help your child develop compassion & empathy appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

With our encouragement and support children can achieve a lot. At birth children have a built-in set of goals; scoot, crawl, roll over, hold self up, walk… It is important to help your child learn to identify goals and work towards achieving them. Working towards goals will help your child understand there are rewards and there a consequences. Sometimes we meet our goals, sometimes we exceed them and sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we don’t reach them. The key is to not give up and always learn from our mistakes. If we keep setting and reaching for our goals, in the end there will be more successes than failures.

How to help your child learn about goals

• Use the word Goal
• Encourage your child to set their own goals. Sometimes parents tend to tell their child what goal to achieve. Instead when the opportunity arises ask your child what she would do differently next time. Then say that sounds great! Would you like to make that a goal?
• Make sure goals are simple and appropriate for your child.
• Enthusiastically encourage your child to reach the goals.
• When goals are met celebrate and enjoy!
• Set your own goals and talk about them regularly. For example say “I’ve set a goal this week to eat more vegetables.”

The post Setting Goals with Your Preschooler appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

I’ll never forget, even as a very little girl, the way my dogs would run circles around the house non-stop when we returned from the store, a trip or preschool. They made me feel so good! I’d laugh and just feel good inside knowing how much they loved me and I loved them. I learned how to care for them and feed them. I felt empathy for them when they were sick. And they got me outside everyday to walk them and play with them.  Family pets can teach children a lot about themselves, caring for others and even dealing with loss and death. 

Caring for pets:

• Encourages positive self-esteem: Pets are loyal, cuddly, love affection and adore their owners.
• Teaches children to be respectful: Animals have feelings too. Sometimes they are sad, tired, excited, happy, angry, scared, nervous, hungry, thirsty… Children learn to be respectful of their feelings giving them space when needed, playtime when ready, food when hungry… Children learn what their pets like and what their pets don’t like.
• Encourages empathy & compassion: Pets give children a real living being to care for. They are used to others tending to all their needs, so caring for the family pet opens up a whole new perspective. Feeding, grooming, petting, walking…
• Helps children develop a conscience: If a child pulls on a tail or forgets to feed the pet they learn they’ve made a mistake that needs to be corrected.
• Teaches children about unconditional love: Pets love us no matter what. And we love them no matter what.
• Helps children learn about their own feelings: Raising pets naturally brings up conversations about the feelings pets have and help children talk about how they feel too.
• Teaches children to interpret and understand non-verbal cues: Animals can’t talk but they can let you know if they are angry, uncomfortable, hungry, ready to play… Learning how to be sensitive to non-verbal cues from pets  helps children learn to interpret non-verbal cues in other children and adults too.
• Develops competence, confidence, responsibility, self-esteem: Pets need a responsible owner. Children learn to keep the animals fed and water bowls full. They learn animals need exercise, need to come inside when it’s too cold or wet, need attention and love, need someone to take them to the vet… Children learn how to help sick pets and deal with declining health and the special needs associated with it.
• Helps children learn how to deal with death and loss: Animals don’t live forever. Death is a difficult concept for children to understand and accept. They often think it is temporary or can be wished back away.  Dealing with the death of a pet when we are children helps us develop and understanding of death, the grieving process and that even with death our memories and our love never fade.

Pick the pet that’s right for your family

• Don’t jump into pet ownership of any kind without thinking it through carefully. Pets purchased impulsively often end up in a shelter.
• Dogs need lots of exercise, one on one care, socializing and cannot be left alone for very long.
• Cats can be kept inside and as long as they have food, water and a litter box, they can take care of themselves for a couple of days.
• Hamsters and gerbils tend to bite.
• Reptiles aren’t very cuddly and usually have to live in a cage.
• Instead of buying visit shelters. There are lots of wonderful pets just waiting for a home and someone to love.

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