That title to this SHARE is a little tongue in cheek, of course, but doesn't it seem like everybody blames the mom, when a kid acts out, or grows up to be an adult involved in crime or an adult that is difficult to deal with? Everybody seems to turn to the grown child's mother and point their fingers firmly in her direction.
Now a new study may show that there is some validity in this.
This study in England followed 57 families and asked the mothers to discuss certain aspects of human behavior with their children, like why people are the way they are or why people feel like they do. The mothers showed pictures of happy or sad people to their children and explained why the people in the pictures were feeling that way.
The study showed that the more mothers talked to their children about other people's feelings, the more empathy the children developed later in life.
The study focused on woman because when it started 14 years ago, men spent less time with their children. Researchers concede that these days, men are spending more time with their kids and would be better able to participate in a study beginning today.
In essence, it's not so much the mother talking to their children about the feelings of others, but the parents, in general. It is thought that by the time a child is 3 or 4 year old, it's already possible to predict their levels of empathy in later years.
Most importantly, it's best to begin talking with children very early about how others feel and the variety of feelings all humans have, in order to instill feelings of empathy later in life. And this is something both mothers and fathers can do.
Tell Us
Do you think it's important to talk to children about the feelings of others to instill empathy later? Is empathy taught to children or is it something they either have or have not?