Reading Teaches Empathy to Children

Everywhere you go today, we're surrounded by new avenues of entertainment. After a school day is done, a kid is surrounded by movies, television, the internet, video games, cellphones, and more. The problem is that with all this stimuli, children are exposed less and less often to the single form of entertainment that is most educational and opens their eyes to the broad world around them...books.

Books, unlike many other forms of media, can help a child build empathy for those that are different from them. A great example is Uncle Tom's Cabin which was released in 1852. Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel opened the eyes of Americans by exposing readers to its anti-slavery themes. There is even a story that is told that Abraham Lincoln said, "So this is the little lady who started this great war," when he met Stowe at the start of the Civil War. It inspired people to stand up against the slavery practices of the south because they were able to empathize with the plight of Uncle Tom and Eliza.

When reading a book, the reader dives deeper into the world of the characters because they create a visualization in their heads of that world created by the book. It creates a more personal experience than a movie can because it forces the reader to be more emotionally invested in the storyline. Movies, TV shows, video games, and plays are more passive because the visual stimuli and imagination is placed on hold because the world is already created for them. While it is true that the author has constructed a world for their reader through words, the reader has to mentally participate in that world's creation through their own personal visualizations.

Once this world has been constructed in the readers head and they can visualize how the characters look, act, and talk, the reader becomes more attached to these characters because they have invested in them. If the character is faced with challenges or injustices, the reader is also brought along on the journey that that particular character has to take, teaching that child to be more empathetic toward someone else.

Empathy is an important part of adult society and is something that is often lacking in present times. Without empathy, it is easier to be prejudiced against those that are different from you. It is easier for lawmakers to skew laws that are unfair to particular social classes and races. With empathy, diplomacy can be achieved on a local level as well as at an international level.

The world is short on empathy and children reading books for entertainment rather than assigned reading has gone down. If parents can sway their children to read more and turn off the TV or put down their magazines, the world could grow to be a better place.