Prosocial values in children could spare society future grief

Teaching children about generosity and kindness could help reduce inequality in the world.

This is according to CEO of the Santa Shoebox Project, Deb Zelezniak, who says children who are taught to look out for other people end up being good citizens.

Speaking to Ynews, Zelezniak says teaching these character traits will create a ripple effect of giving, and happiness in students, which will then flow from the classroom into the community.

She says schools and the society at large need to work harder to inculcate these values in children.

 

According to research, giving back is also good for school children’s academic outcome, as they learn to share and foster an attitude of caring for people.

Zelezniak says feeling empathy and concern for others are other critical prosocial behaviours.

The CEO of the Santa Shoebox Project believes that the empowering of pupils with opportunities to make a meaningful impact in the lives of others should be part of the school curriculum.

 

Zelezniak says children must be taught about the joy of giving, how to be generous and benevolent.

She says even outside of the school setting, the cognitive competencies and social-emotional skills that learners develop as a result of practicing these behaviours also contribute to success later in life.

Experts say societies that have a lot of people with prosocial values are better at breaking down prejudice, overcoming disadvantage, sharing resources and including everyone.