COMMUNITY
THE ROOTS OF EMPATHY
Changing the World Child by Child
T
here is a classroom module being taught in schools across Canada, the United States,
Europe and elsewhere that helps children develop empathy, compassion and maturity.
One of the key teachers is a baby.
Teacher, parenting expert and child advocate Mary Gordon developed the program for
school-aged children to interact with a baby in its first year of life, along with one or both
parents, and an instructor who helps the children understand the baby’s development and
needs. The program works to develop emotional literacy and social understanding among
children, and gives them a positive model of the power of a healthy parent-child bond.
Through this, children whose own circumstances were adverse get a chance to see a different way to be, breaking intergenerational cycles of abuse. Incidences of bullying diminish,