Altruism: why and how to encourage it in our kids

Why guide our kids toward altruism?

Whether we call it altruism, kindness, goodness or generosity, it seems that children are born with it, that they're naturally wired to embrace it. Some scientific studies have shown that our brain has a reward and satisfaction center that switches on when we do something altruistic. So when children do something altruistic, they can benefit from it too, like when they give a friend a hug to comfort them or share their favorite treats with their brother or sister.

But what exactly is altruism?

It's easy to confuse altruism with empathy, or even to think the two words mean the same thing. However, altruism stems from empathy. So what's the difference between them? Empathy is the ability to recognize other people's emotions as separate from our own. It's what drives altruistic motivation, in other words, the urge to do kind things for others. Altruism, by definition, is all the behaviors and actions carried out with the intention of easing someone else's suffering.

Are we born altruistic?

French psychologist Jacques Lecomte says that “toddlers are genetically predisposed to communicate with others very early on and to show empathy. Babies just a few hours old start crying when they hear another child cry, but not when they hear a recording of their own cries. It's quite fascinating!” So children aren't born altruistic, but they are born with a genetic predisposition to empathy. Still, it's up to us to encourage our kids to experience the benefits of these bursts of generosity.

How can we encourage altruism in our kids?

To motivate kids to develop values like kindness and generosity, we at Les Belles Combines created the Little Acts of Kindness Bingo. In the same spirit as the Good Deeds Advent Calendar, this printable motivates our kids to do good deeds so they can experience the benefits for themselves. We figured it was a shame to wait until Christmas to do good deeds, and that doing them all year long would be good for everyone!

Little Acts of Kindness Bingo: how do you play?

Give the kids a bingo card already filled in with good deeds, or let them get inspired by our list of little acts of kindness and create their own bingo card. You probably won't need to, but if your kids are reluctant to take part, offer them a number of tokens (which they can spend at the General Store) for each good deed they do.

In the end, everyone has the potential to be altruistic; all that's left is to nurture it!

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