50+ Kids’ Books About Empathy to Help You Raise Kind Kids

Inside: Read these empathy books for kids to nurture your child’s empathy so they grow into kind adults. But as you read, don’t forget to ask this important question.

Every parent I know wants to raise their kids to be compassionate and caring towards others.

We want our kids to be the type of people who:

• Listen when a friend is struggling, instead of interrupting to put the focus back on themselves
• Drop off a home-cooked meal when someone in their community is recovering from surgery or illness
• Try to understand others with differing opinions or values—not blurt out, “You’re wrong!” and storm off

But if we want that for our kids when they’re grown, we need to nurture the seeds of empathy in our children now.

Empathy is a prerequisite for kindness and compassion because it requires you to take someone else’s perspective and imagine how they’re feeling. If you struggle to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, you won’t feel compelled to show compassion towards your fellow humans.

And with a low level of empathy, you’ll have poor communication skills, struggle to maintain healthy relationships, and be less likely to help friends and family when they need support.

On the other hand, when your ability to empathize is strong, that correlates with a positive well-being and improved life satisfaction.