Empathy is another important function of the upstairs brain. When you ask simple questions that encourage the consideration of another’s feelings, you are building your child’s ability to feel empathy. At a restaurant: “Why do you think that baby is crying?” While you’re reading together: “How do you think Melinda is feeling now that her friend moved away?” Leaving the store: “That woman wasn’t very nice to us, was she? Do you think something might have happened to her that made her feel sad today?” Simply by drawing your child’s attention to other people’s emotions during everyday encounters,
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