make a difference monday: empathy

I am excited to take part in a monthly series at friend, and fellow author, Maria Dismondy's blog.  The purpose of this monthly series is to highlight specific key character traits and give resources to help instill these traits in our little hearts.  As the title of this post indicates, this month's characteristic is that of empathy.   In my personal observation, it seems that some children are just 'hardwired' to understand how others might be feeling or thinking.  I definitely know kids that are much more sensitive to others and can more easily empathize with their friends.  However, overall in the me-centric minds of young children, feeling empathy can be difficult.  So how to develop empathy in your little heart?

Recently I was reading an article in Parenting magazine when I came across the following quote by parenting expert Michele Borba, Ed.D "Kids as young as three can learn empathy, tolerance and respect by helping the disabled".  What an awesome idea and one that is right in line with my mission at the little hearts project.  Obviously helping the disabled is just one avenue to explore to help children understand how others are feeling, but one that I think particularly impactful. 

There are many organizations that support children with disabilities - Special Olympics comes immediately to mind - but even something as simple as befriending a child with special needs would make a huge impression.  Doing so would help them to understand the joys or frustrations that their new friend might feel because of their abilities.  So considering helping your little heart to serve someone who is disabled.  This exposure is sure to be a wonderful start in developing empathy in your little heart.

Earth Day Ideas - Reduce, Reuse, Recyle

Type: activity, advocacy
Age: over 2

Earth day is right around the corner, so I wanted to sneak in one more posting on ways that you and your little heart can serve our Earth. Recycling is a concept that I am sure is second nature to most of us, but I must admit, though we put things in our bin everyday, I haven't ever really had a conversation with my girls about why. Now is the perfect chance! Check out this link for great kids friendly explanations about reducing, reusing and recycling.

Once our kids understand how and why we help our Earth, they are sure to be ready to put the ideas in action. After explaining to my four year old about reusing, she promptly told me that maybe it was better to take one of her water bottles of juice to the park rather than a juice box so we wouldn't have to throw the box away! It is never too early to start fostering little green advocates and to serve our Mother Earth.


I hope you enjoyed the Earth Day ideas! Would love to hear how you and your little one celebrated, so please email or comment with your successes!

Pink it Up

Type: Craft, Advocacy

Age: Over 2

I can't tell you how happy I was to open my email and find the following article sent to me by a reader. Thanks to Jeanine for sharing this inspirational story about some school-age children getting involved with breast cancer awareness. While the kids featured are a bit older, the idea of supporting Race for a Cure is certainly one that can be done with our little hearts. Universally recognizable, by decorating pink ribbons with markers, stickers, glitters or any other bits, you and your child can do your part to raise awareness for this most important cause.

So get crafting - and send pics! We'd love to see your creations :)

Pinwheels for Prevention

Type: craft, advocacy

Age: Over 4

As a parent, I find the reality of child abuse in our country both disheartening and disturbing. April is National Child Abuse Prevention month and a time to raise awareness of child abuse and neglect in our communities. As one means of doing this, Prevent Child Abuse America has initiated the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign to raise awareness.

In addition to discussing with your child about what abuse is, Prevent Child Abuse America has several pinwheel related crafts to enjoy with your child. You can go here for directions on how to make these adorable and meaningful pinwheels. Displaying these pinwheels lend support and create awareness for this very important cause.

We would love to see the results of your little hearts pinwheel projects! Please send pictures and we will post right away :)