Empathy in a layman’s language is the ability to understand others and show compassion towards them. It is one of the core principles of moral values because it has to do with the understanding and sensitivity needed to make moral decisions. It triggers the ability to feel what another person is experiencing from within and to understand their perspective and reality.
Empathy is a necessary building act and is very fundamental to moral conduct. A child who lacks empathy lacks care, compassion, and love. Sadly, most children have a poor sense of empathy. They do not bother about their actions and how they affect them, let alone how they affect others. They exhibit irrational and selfish attitude in their thinking and dealings with others.
Studies have shown that because teenagers go through a process of self-discovery due to their immature pre frontal cortex, they live in the moment, rush their emotions, and are more concerned with how they feel than how others feel. This a natural process that suppresses the empathetic trait in them, making them seldom listen to their empathetic voices.
However, this is not to say that empathy can not be taught and practised, no matter the age and the developmental stage of a child. If parents and children have the consciousness of imbibing the empathetic feelings, practising them, encouraging them, and modelling them by words and by actions, it would make a great difference. Parents need to take an active interest in the concerns of their children, shape their children’s ethical behaviour, direct their capacity for empathy, and awaken their informed conscience towards empathy.
As a child or a teenager, are you an effective listener? Do you give considerations to people? Are you concerned about the ordeal of others? Do you feel the urge to proffer solution to the needs of others? Do you create time for others? Are you accessible during play or times or game activities? Do you conduct activities to help others feel involved? Do you welcome the opportunity to develop imaginations and the creative minds of others? Are you willing to share with others? How often do you feel the need to help? Are you curious about supporting people?
Most children can tick a few of these questions. They are more engrossed with exploring their world, without minding the perspective of others. They are less observant, care less about the values of human dignity, easily trample on human rights, filled with attitude of disrespect and shaped by a sense of irresponsibility towards others.
Empathy is about relationships, about understanding the well-being of people around us and caring for them. It is about being true to who we are and having a working conscience. We are social creatures. Through empathy and other moral values, we evolved to thrive in social communities and learn to listen, understand, love, and care for each other.
Empathy is an essential part of living. We are all called to be empathetic, both young and old. Children and young adults are encouraged to practice empathy, irrespective of the psychological challenges that come with their age. If the ethics are shaped at the right time, the capacity for empathy can be reinforced.
In the words of Arundhati Roy, “empathy may be the single most important quality that must be nurtured to give peace a fighting chance.” Thus, we need the moral compass of ethics to navigate successfully through the limitations that hinder our empathetic dispositions. We can only conquer the world through empathy!
BIBLE VERSE
1 Peter 3:8
To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit
PROVERBS
A person who gives you a little is better than the one who promises you
African proverb
RIDDLE
My empathy makes me vulnerable to others grief, but in the end, it is my own connection to similar trauma that breeds these sympathetic tears. Who am I?
Amara Ann Unachukwu
