The week's best parenting advice: December 14, 2021

How to raise a forgiving child, the downside of popularity, and more

Kindness.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

1. How to raise a forgiving child

The key to raising a forgiving child is to teach them to understand other people's perspectives, a new study suggests. Investigating what makes children more likely to forgive others, researchers from North Carolina State University conducted in-depth interviews with 185 children to collect background information and assess each child's "theory of mind" skills — the ability to understand that someone else's beliefs, intentions, and desires are different from your own. Then they led each child through a series of scenarios in which other kids left them out of a game or activity. "The more advanced a child's theory of mind skills are, the more likely they are to forgive others," Science Daily reports. In which case, teaching children to inhabit other people's perspectives is probably a good idea.

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Stephanie H. Murray

Stephanie H. Murray is a public policy researcher turned freelance writer.