* Dawn Rising *  

There is evidence that empathy is natural in children. It is found even during infancy stages. As children grow up, however, this is lost due to the family environment.

A series of studies at the National Institute of Mental Health by Marian Radke-Yarrow and Carolyn Zahn-Waxler have shown that the way parents discipline their children has got a lot to do to nurture the empathic concern of children.

The researchers found that:

Children develop more empathy when the discipline called attention to the distress they caused someone else: Look how sad you've made her feel instead of That was naughty.

Empathy is shaped in children by seeing how others react when someone else is distressed.

By imitating what they see, children develop a set of empathic response, especially in helping other people who are distressed.

Source: Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10036, U.S.A.