7 Ways to Teach Your Youth How To GIVE Compassion

There are many youth who don’t know the difference between compassion, empathy, and sympathy, because of this only a few are willing to stop a bully from hurting their classmate, volunteer to help others in their communities, or hold a door to prevent it from closing on someone behind him/her. We may teach our children what it means to give sympathy or empathy, but not compassion. Giving compassion is not always easy to do because it deals with action. Showing sympathy or empathy are so much easier, because being aware of a problem or being able to imagine what a person is feeling when he/she is going through torment doesn’t causes us to suffer in any way or give of self. However, a person of compassion does what it is needed to help remove pain, bring forth changes to help/protect others, show love, or help stop torment of those who are suffering.

A person of compassion will either appear as an enemy or savior/protector to the eyes of others. A person of compassion is also willing to stand up for those who are being hurt, so he/she will become enemies to those he/she are trying to stop, but a savior/protector to those whom he/she save from harm or helped. Dr. King, Mikhail Gorbachev , Tyler Perry, William Wilberforce, Oprah Winfrey, Mother Teresa, Malala Yousafzai and many others are examples of what it means to give compassion towards others and bring forth positive changes. Many of you can name people who shown you compassion, sympathy, or empathy, but most of us don’t need sympathy and empathy if compassion is not linked. Or sometimes we feel worst when a person can only show sympathy and empathy. So don’t just teach our youth how to acknowledge another person’s needs/pains and imagine how it could feel to be in others’ shoes, take it a step further, teach them what it means to give and show compassion to others.

Below are 7 Ways to Teach Your Youth Compassion

1. Volunteer at least 2 hours a month and not just during the holidays: Teach your youth to volunteer in their communities from a place of love and wanting all to have the best, and not because they “feel sorry” or gaining something from it. A great program to partner with is TeenHOP – www.teenhop.com

2. Create a Giving Safe: Have everyone in the house who gain money for chores, birthdays, grades, or job give 10% every time they receive in order to donate to charity or a child/family in need.

3. Create a Giving Box: Have everyone put items (clothes, shoes, bedding, toys or anything) each month in a box and family drop it off together at a center that collect items for those in need.

4. Have your youth buy gifts or send cards/pictures to grandparents, school/church members in hospital, or anyone who are going through difficult times or need encouragement outside of birthdays or holidays. (Motivate them to find people who need encouragement and make it a habit to ask how others are doing).

5. Compassion Game: Each week everyone will have to do something to help everyone in his or her household and every Friday or Saturday during dinnertime everyone will talk about how the action/compassion made him or her feel. (Teach your youth to listen to their siblings/parents and find out what they need help with or want)

6. Prayer List: Teach your youth to have a prayer list of their friends, family, or enemies and have them pray ONLY good things for them and protection everyday.

7. Stand Up: Encourage him/her to take a stand on a cause and do what it is needed to educate, help, and bring forth changes in their communities. – Examples of causes -Stop Bullying, Decrease Homeless, Help Elderly, Stop Any Kind of Prejudices, Raise Money or Create Medicines To Heal Sickness, or anything/one he or she will like to help bring forth changes.

The glue to teaching our youth compassion is showing them what it means to care for others and understand there will be conflict and misunderstanding from others when doing so. Bitterness, hatred, selfishness, jealousy, covetousness, and not being able to forgive are the main elements for a person to not give or be an example of compassion. Hopefully, we are not being examples to our youth of these elements for any reasons, because our youth are usually our mirrors.

I will end this post by saying -I'm thankful to God to say my children have received many rewards, but I teach my children, their greatest rewards are the ones they receive for helping others. My hope is for them to be known for standing up for causes in order to better others' lives from a place of compassion.

 Awards from The President Of Untied States for Volunteering In their Community with TeenHOP

First John 3:17
“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet
closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”

Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Proverbs 19:17 “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”