Developing social skills like kindness, empathy and compassion in kids is crucial. It is not a lesson learnt in the classroom. Thakur International School (IGCSE & A Levels), Mumbai, makes every effort to imbibe these values that children need to experience.

Social and emotional intelligence usually begins to develop in children in the early years as all the small exchanges children have with their parents, teachers and peers carry important emotional messages. Understanding the effect of these messages on the developing brains, teachers need to respond to children more uniquely. After all parents and teachers play a significant role in influencing young children’s social and emotional development. At TIS (IGCSE & A Levels), Mumbai, the teachers ensure that children learn to build bridges of loyalty and affection, thereby developing the unique skill of empathy.

As such, there’s no script on how to develop empathy in children. If we go as per the definition, ‘Empathy’ is the power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person’s feelings, situations. It is an effort to understand how others feel. But how do we develop this important and crucial skill in children?

Well, here’s a truly magical art of developing empathy, kindness and compassion in children and that is through the “Power of Reading”. Yes, you read it right. As in the words of the famous British Writer, Malorie Blackman, who held the position of Children’s Laureate from 2013 to 2015, “Reading is an exercise in empathy, an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.

Books can really develop children’s empathy and boost their social and emotional development. The unique Cambridge curriculum at Thakur International School, Mumbai encourages children to read as books have a powerful influence on them. Reading not only develops empathy and compassion but also promotes and contributes to their overall emotional well-being.

Books give children their own space to imagine and interpret, as they read about someone else and feel their experiences. Story books and picture books have the power to bring emotions to life. Thakur International School (IGCSE & A Levels) is one of the best schools in Mumbai western suburbs that encourages children at a young age to instil reading, as it helps them understand their own feelings and those of others. In other words, they become more aware of themselves and others. Thus, reading contributes in improving their relationship with others, improves social interaction and communication abilities as well as helps them become more participative.

Neuroscience Researchers at Emory University, Atlanta, US say that fiction tricks our brains. The empathy one feels for the characters in the story that we read about wires our brains to have that kind of sensitivity towards people in the real world. And that is why, encouraging reading is just not enough. It is equally important to keep a check on what our children are reading. As finding the right book is the first step in helping them understand people.

As educators of our children, we must remember that “Reading is to the mind, as exercise is to the body.” And in order to help children understand the significance of empathy and developing the skill, we must teach them to see with the eyes of another, listen with the ears of another and feel with the heart of another.” And this can be best inculcated in children through reading.