May 10, 2025

Quote of the Week

"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you!" --Robert Fulghum

It's Hard To Be A Kid! Tips For Compassionate Parenting

Compassion literally means “to feel with” or “to suffer with” another person. It means seeing something the way they do, experiencing their pain with them, and desiring to make it better.We don’t intentionally ignore opportunities for compassion, but sometimes, in the hectic moments of parenting, we respond unskillfully. We don’t take our children’s perspective, and we miss an opportunity for connection.

Though it’s hard to see our children in pain, it’s often easier to practice compassion in those moments. That’s when they actively seek our embrace, and desire the comfort we are hard-wired to provide when they suffer. It’s harder to respond with compassion when they’re misbehaving or throwing a fit, especially over something as trivial as putting socks on in the morning or eating quinoa for dinner.

But it’s in precisely those moments when our children are acting in ways that are LEAST likely to evoke our sympathy that they need our compassion and connection the most!   Read more in this week's featured article.

Reading Corner

We're in this together: Leo's Lunchbox
By: Raphael Warnock
Ages 4-8

"A powerful modern-day story about sharing what you have, based on the biblical story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Reverend Senator Raphael Warnock’s tale of empathy, community, and caring for others comes to life with TeMika Grooms’s warm illustrations." --Publishers
 

Be the Change

Talk with your kids about the themes of compassion and empathy in this week's featured book and donate to a food pantry, volunteer in a soup kitchen or help a family in need together.  Share about what examples of compassion you have noticed in your corner of the world.