Growing a Garden of Character: Why Children Need Compassion

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Today we continue our series on planting a character garden in our children by exploring compassion – a fundamental trait that helps children function successfully in society and builds their characteristic DNA.

• Compassion is another word for love – specifically love for fellow humans who are experiencing distress
• Real-life examples demonstrate how small acts of compassion can make significant differences in others' lives
• Children need to see parents modeling compassionate behavior to understand its importance
• Volunteer opportunities like soup kitchens provide powerful visual learning experiences for children
• Teaching compassion helps children understand that they may someday need others to show them compassion
• Simple acts like offering help in grocery stores can teach powerful lessons without requiring complex planning
• Children naturally replicate behaviors they consistently observe in their parents

If you enjoyed today's episode, please leave feedback at the Mom2Mentor podcast, visit singlemomsunitedpodcast.com, or check our YouTube channel. Remember, you're more than just a nurturer and provider – you are a mentor.

https://singlemomsunitedpodcast.com/

It's not how you arrived at the title, but what you do with it.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, ladies, welcome to the Mom2Mentor podcast.
If this is your first timejoining, welcome If you are a
repeat listener.
Thank you for your loyalty.
Hey, as I mentioned in the past, if you've been following me,
I'm planting a virtual charactergarden when it comes to raising

(00:26):
our children and plantingdifferent characteristics into
their lifestyles and explainingwhy that's important as they
navigate through life, and theseare things that they're going
to need.
These are some things you mayeven need that you're unaware of
, and if you've listened to myprior episodes, you heard me

(00:48):
talk about honesty, respect andconfidence.
All of these things are makingup your characteristic DNA that
you should possess to help youfunction in society.
So today I want to talk aboutcompassion.
Compassion is just another wordfor love.

(01:11):
I mean, that's it, and when Italk about love, I'm not talking
about relationship love, boyand girl love.
I'm talking about love for yourfellow man, right?
So compassion is justacknowledging someone else's
distress or what they're goingthrough, and you want to help

(01:34):
them through that.
For example, when I go groceryshopping and I'll see someone in
one of those motorized scootersor whatever and by me being
tall as well, you know I oftenask do you need help to get
anything off of the top shelf.
That's compassion, that'sshowing love.

(01:54):
And, matter of fact, about ayear or so ago, when I was
experiencing some foot pain, Iwas limping around and so forth,
and at the grocery store again,as I was putting my items into
the trunk of my car, I guess alady just noticed me limping and

(02:16):
, you know, trying to get itdone on my own, given I was
experiencing some uncomfortableuncomfortableness with my foot.
And so she said can I take yourcard and put it up for you?
And I was like, oh wow, sure Igladly accept.
That's compassion.

(02:36):
And guess what?
It doesn't have to be linked toany type of culture or gender,
to any type of culture or gender.
It's just you being showinglove to your fellow man in
situations where they're unableto be 100% and doing what they

(02:57):
need to do.
So you need to teach your childabout that, yeah, what it means
to be compassionate and displaycompassion, because they are
going to encounter people thatmay be less fortunate than they
are, and they need to understandwhat it means to be empathetic.

(03:21):
You just don't be rude.
You acknowledge what they'regoing through by showing or
lending a helping hand to thatperson or asking right.
So how do we cultivate thatladies?
How do we build that up in ourchildren?

(03:42):
How do we water the compassionseed?
Well, I'm glad you asked me.
I'm so glad you asked me.
Well, they got to see you doingit.
When's the last time you'veshown compassion to someone that
was in distress or struggling?

(04:02):
When was the last time you didthat?
Wow, yeah, because we take somuch for granted myself as well
we take so much for granted, andwhen we see other people, you
know, unfortunately, the mindsetthis day is I got mine, now you

(04:24):
get yours.
I don't know why you're likethat, but oh well, I'm gonna
keep it moving because I don'thave your issues.
So I'm going to keep it movingbecause I don't have your issues
, so I'm going to keep it moving, so I don't need to display
compassion.
Well, this is where you're wrong, because we all, because,
number one, we don't know wherewe're going to be in five years

(04:48):
or 10 years.
We just don't know.
You know our bodies aren't madeto be long term right To not
experience any issues long term.
So you're going to get sick.
As long as you have breath inyour body, you're going to be
subject to your body justbreaking down, to be subject to

(05:15):
your body just breaking down,yeah.
And the older you get, you knowyou may be arthritis or
whatever.
These things are going toattack your body and so you have
to want in return someonedisplaying compassion for you.
And that's how you explain itto your children.
Yeah, they're running andjumping and having a wonderful

(05:35):
time in life right now, butthat's not going to last always.
As they get older, as theirbody gets older, some things are
going to start to hurt.
Ask me how I know.
Ask me how I know.
Ask me how I know Other waysyou can show compassion.

(05:57):
If there are volunteeropportunities in your community
or if you attend church, getinvolved with that.
You know I took my kids at mychurch at the time.
We had a soup kitchen everySaturday, so I took my kids down

(06:22):
to work in the soup kitchen sothat they can see what it's like
and really understand howblessed they are that we can go
to the grocery store.
We can go get the food we cancook the food can go to the
grocery store.
We can go get the food we cancook the food where these folks
generally maybe that's only oneof the meals they get during the
week that they have to come toa soup kitchen to eat.

(06:42):
So it's explaining to them andI needed them to see that.
So that's the other thing,ladies, as I talked about in the
past.
We can talk until we're blue inthe face, but we have to allow
our children to visually seethese things.
Why is that important?

(07:04):
Because we learn through oureyes.
We are visual people.
We are visual people and it hasgreater impact than us just
saying, hey, you need to be niceto so-and-so, hey, you need to
know.
Let them see it, let them seeyou, let them see you showing

(07:25):
compassion.
And here's the good news it'snot that difficult.
It really isn't.
And like the example I gave you, in the grocery store, I see
someone in a motorized scooterand we happen to be in the same
aisle.
It's just as simple as do youneed help with anything?

(07:45):
It's just that simple.
Or like the lady saw mehobbling around with my bad foot
and she just came and saidwould you like for me to put the
card up for you?
So don't overthink it.
Like me, I have a tendency tooverthink, but I encourage you,

(08:06):
don't overthink it, just do it.
Just do it and allow yourchildren to see it and then
guess what?
They're going to startreplicating your behavior.
And that's good news, becausewe got to have that compassion
characteristic in our life,because we're living among other

(08:32):
people and, again, you don'tknow where you're going to be in
5, 10, 15 years, where you'regoing to need someone to display
that compassion with you orthem.
And that's how you explain that.
All right, ladies, this is it,brief and to the point, I hope.

(08:53):
I hope you enjoyed today'sepisode.
If you did, leave me somefeedback.
Mom to Mentor podcast, or go tosinglemomsunitedpodcastcom or
my YouTube channel.
Leave me some encouraging words, please.
A little encouragement goes along way.

(09:15):
It really does.
And again, if you enjoyed this,tell another mom the Mom to
Mentor podcast.
It's not about how you arrivedat the mom title, it's what you
do with it.
Remember you're more than justa nurturer and a provider.
You are a mentor.

(09:36):
That means your children.
Your child is looking up to youfor that motivation, that
encouragement, that positivereinforcement, and we owe it to
them because they didn't ask tocome into this world right.
So have a good day, ladies, awonderful week and a marvelous

(09:59):
month.
Take care.