Is Empathy a Thing of the Past?
According to a study, 80% of children say that their parents value achievements and happiness over caring. A survey states that more than 90% of parents say that their top priority for their children is for them to be kind and caring. Kindness and caring are the foundations of most people's moral compasses, but when children are asked what their parents want for them, more than half commented that their parents value achievement over caring. Adults are constantly preaching the importance of kindness and caring, but there is tremendous contrast between what grown-ups say and what grown-ups do. Kids learn what is important to adults not by listening to what they say, but by noticing what gets their attention. Nowadays, in many developed societies, parents praise and value achievements and happiness over anything else. However, as much as adults praise kindness and caring, they do not actually show the children that they value those traits. A rigorous annual survey of American college students showed a substantial decline of kindness from 1979 to 2009. The survey showed that children nowadays grow less likely to feel concern for people less fortunate than themselves, and less bothered by seeing others treated unfairly. Society is fractured partially because of the values parents have elevated. Many parents become so focused on achievements that they fail to nurture kindness, mainly because adults seem to regard their children's success as personal badge of honor, and view their children’s failures as a negative reflection on their own parenting. On the other hand, some parents discourage kindness, seeing it as a weakness in this competitive world. There is no reason parents should teach their children to care about others and themselves and to be both generous and self respecting. If grown ups encourage children to consider the needs and feelings of others, they are more likely to learn the norm of reciprocity. If people do not treat other considerably, they may not be considerate toward one another.
