15 activities and games to work on empathy in children

Empathy is one of the most important prosocial skills. We can describe it as the ability to understand what others feel, assess the situation from their perspective and alternate positions with them. It is a mediator in any type of social interaction.

The ability begins to develop during childhood, so we have prepared a selection of activities and games to work on empathy in children that are useful for both school and home and do not require specialization for their development.

Why is it important to work on empathy in children?

Empathy is a skill that is related to kindness, otherness, companionship, solidarity, teamwork and support. Experts agree that it is a capital skill in social development, one that allows human beings to strengthen ties, build and maintain relationships, and insert themselves politically into their nation.

This last assessment is not gratuitous. According to studies, empathy is mediated by social constructs, so the degree of empathy that a person develops depends on their cultural environment. This is because it is a skill that is not only anchored in ethics, but also in morals, religion, customs and other variables.

Furthermore, a study published in 2020 in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry found that Children with disruptive behaviors have problems in their empathy development. The less this is encouraged, the more likely there is to manifest attitudes of this type.

Researchers have also found that The degree of empathy predicts the predisposition to lie. Children who are more empathetic lie less, and when they do they tend to maintain their lie for less time.

If you are still not convinced, we leave you other reasons to use games to work on empathy in children:

Empathic feelings reduce the tendency to bully.They promote collaborative work, the willingness to help others and kindness. They are useful for teaching how to express feelings and emotions and connect with those of others. They teach guidelines for responding to different social situations (grief, accidents and so on).They are a means to learn to know, control and regulate one’s own emotions.They improve communication skills (in general, not just the ability to listen to others).

Now that you know the importance of empathy in children, you have solid bases to commit to the activities that we suggest below.

Games to work on empathy in children

Broadly speaking, two types of empathy are distinguished: cognitive empathy and emotional empathy. The first refers to the ability to rationally interpret or predict the emotions in others. The second is the ability to tune in to these emotions, so that a similar reaction is generated in our state of mind.

The games to work on empathy in children that we have prepared are useful to encourage both types. We recommend betting on several of them, so that a holistic vision is implemented that benefits the little ones in many ways.

1. Guess the emotions of others

Being empathetic involves understanding and distinguishing the emotions of others. The first of the games to work on empathy in children that we propose consists of guessing the emotions of others.

There are many ways to do it, but in this case we ask you to choose several illustrated books in which you will try to guess and describe the emotions of the characters.

It will be done with both people and animals. The development of the written story will not be taken into account, only that which is presented in an illustrated manner. You can write on a separate sheet of paper what emotions correspond to each character, why they might feel that way, and even what you could do to help them.

2. Learn and listen to music

A study published in 2013 in Psychology of Music found that musical group interaction has a positive influence on children’s empathy. The evidence further suggests that physical exercise with music and drawing with music also has a beneficial impact in the development of empathy in the little ones.

We suggest you include music sessions in different aspects of your daily life. When cooking, when drawing, when sleeping. You can choose instrumental pieces, or on the contrary those in which the lyrics revolve around a feeling or an idea that allows an empathetic lesson to be extracted. You can argue about it for more positive reinforcement.

3. Read children’s literature

Experts agree that children’s literature is a great tool to foster empathy. Includes reading sessions of this type, and stop at those passages in which empathic learning can be extracted.

Of course, this will also help encourage reading in the little ones; something that will help enhance their cognitive and critical skills in the long term.

Reading encourages empathy because it involves putting yourself in the characters’ shoes.

4. Interact with animals

Researchers have found that interacting with animals fosters empathy in children and their prosocial behavior.

Interacting face to face with animals is an excellent way to connect with your own and other people’s emotions., so it is one of the many games to work on empathy in children. Adopting a pet, going to the zoo or farms is one way to achieve this.

5. Play video games

Often when we think about video games it is in a violent context. However, studies and research have found that prosocial games are a tool to work on empathy.

Some experts have considered gamification as an essential method when teaching empathetic attitudes in a playful way.

6. Implement creative writing programs

There is evidence that relates the implementation of written skills to the development of empathy in children. There are many ways to achieve this, although we suggest implementing creative writing programs. Writing stories, short stories, poems and more is another of the activities and games to work on empathy in children.

7. Develop stage skills

Studies suggest that different types of artistic participation are related to greater development of empathy. For example, the visual arts and the performing arts.

Painting, sculpture, theater and others are ideal channels to enhance the empathetic spirit in the little ones. Don’t forget to include them and make them a habit that accompanies them in their adult life.

8. Share optical illusions

Many optical illusions have the ability to generate different responses in the observer. DH Schuster’s impossible trident, the kanizsa triangle, the drawing of the duck or rabbit (by an anonymous author, although documented for the first time in 1892), MC Escher’s impossible cube or Rubin’s well-known vase are just some examples that they can be used.

9. Develop role play

That is, games in which for a few minutes the little ones will play a certain role. It is an experience similar to theater, but without a specific script.

Through role plays they can connect with other people’s emotions and thoughts, which will promote its principle of otherness. As much as possible, the recreated scenes should revolve around empathetic situations.

10. Write a diary of emotions

You are more empathetic to the extent that you know and control your own feelings. Therefore, Keeping an emotions diary is an excellent strategy that you cannot miss taking advantage of..

In it you can write the emotions and feelings that the child experiences in his or her daily life, and at the end share them with the parents, the teacher or the group.

11. Play riddles

Experts have found that a variant of riddles known as emotional riddles are useful for teaching empathy in a playful way. The rules are the same as in the classic game, only this time cards with emotions will be used.

Participants will try to describe them without directly referring to them, in principle through gestures and mime.

Playing riddles involves knowing what the main characteristics of emotions are.

12. Brainstorm how to be kind

A hypothetical situation about morals, ethics, values ​​or citizen commitment will be recreated and ideas will be asked about how to solve that problem. For example, what to do if we see a familiar person crying on the street, an elderly person in trouble, an animal suffering, and so on.

13. Pose humorous situations

A study published in 2020 in Europe’s Journal of Psychology found that a sense of humor is related to that person’s empathy. Aggressive humor is related to lower emotional empathy and affective sympathy scores. Teach the boundaries between humor and mockery It is another game to work on empathy in children.

14. Play board games

Both traditional and more modern board games are a tool to promote teamwork, camaraderie and collaboration. It is to the extent that these values ​​are taught, so that a recreational activity can become a space to develop empathic skills in the little ones. They can be included both at school and at home.

15. Identify emotions in photographs

Finally, another game to work on empathy in children consists of identify emotions in photographs of both the child and the circle that surrounds him (friends, family and others). This encourages them to be empathetic with those who are immediately close to them, and also to learn to identify the particular gestures and attitudes of each of them.

Finally, don’t just stick to one activity listed, try to include several of these and even try them all to find the one that reports the greatest results. If possible, the group should bethis is how empathy is worked on in a context where it can manifest itself.

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