50 Delightfully Creepy Things Kids Did That Are Both Hilarious And Concerning

"Children learn from observation of what others do, but also through explicit teaching and explanations, and through experience and observation of how others respond to certain actions," Eileen explained to us. The psychologist revealed to Bored Panda that people's capacity for empathy can grow throughout their lives. Broadly speaking, the older we are, the more we understand and care about the feelings of others.

"In general, we become more empathic at 19 than we were when we were at age 9, and that continues, so we're more empathic at 29 than 19, at 39 than 29, simply because we've experienced more of life, so it's easier for us to put ourselves in someone else's shoes," she said.

According to psychologist Eileen, there are three 'ingredients' that children need to respond to others in a caring way. First of all, they need to be able to imagine someone else's thoughts and feelings. "The ability to imagine accurately someone else's perspective generally begins around age 4 and grows with age and experience," Eileen explained to Bored Panda.

Secondly, kids need to be able to manage their own distress. "Kids don't have the bandwidth to respond kindly to someone else if they are overwhelmed by their own feelings." And third of all, they need to believe they're capable of helping others. "If they don't think they can help or don't know how, they're likely to freeze or avoid situations where someone is upset." And parents play a vital role in helping their kids develop more empathy for others.

"Parents can help by talking about people's thoughts and feelings as they come up in books, movies, or real life. This gives children a window into people's internal life that helps with perspective-taking. Parents can help children manage their own emotions by naming those feelings as well as teaching specific coping strategies such as distraction, deep breathing, counting to ten, or using words to ask for what they want," the psychologist said.

"Finally, parents can guide children toward seeing themselves as helpers by talking about how children's kind actions impact others. For instance, they might say, 'That was kind of you to help your brother with his block tower. He was sad when it fell down, and he felt happier when you helped him build it up again.' Or, 'Thank you for helping me put away the groceries. I'm happy that we got the job done quickly.'"

It's inevitable that children will eventually make a mistake and do something that isn't kind. It's a question of when, not if. In those cases, parents shouldn't rush to conclusions and should not assume that this is an indication of "terrible things ahead." After all, we all make mistakes sometimes.

"Instead, acknowledge good intentions, describe the other person's feelings, and focus on moving forward. For instance, you could say, 'I know you're excited about going on the swings, but your sister also wants to swing, and she's sad that she hasn't had a turn yet.' Then, to move forward, you could ask, 'What can you do to help her feel better?' or 'What would be fair to everyone?'"