Young children are naturally egocentric. This is a normal part of development: children first see the world through their own eyes before they can see it through someone else’s. At around age two, children often believe that others think and feel the exact same way that they do. As parents and caregivers, we all want our children to eventually think beyond their own experience. We want them to be kind. A critical piece of that kindness is empathy, which is the ability to understand, share, and connect to the feelings of someone else. ❤️ As with so many aspects of parenting, modelling empathy ourselves is one of the best ways of teaching it. One way to do this is to narrate when you’re having strong feelings yourself. When you can’t find a parking spot, for example, tell your child “I’m sorry I’m not paying attention to you, I can’t find a place to park and it’s making me feel angry and frustrated. I’ll take some deep breaths and keep looking.” #LoveveryEurope #ToddlerDevelopment #SocialEmotionalLearning #LoveveryToddler