Today I am featuring the book The Empathy Advantage by Lynne Azarchi on the Blog Tour hosted by TLC Book Tours. I am sharing my review of the book, so be sure to read on. This post contains affiliate links, so if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.
About The Book:
Title: The Empathy Advantage: Coaching Children To Be Kind, Respectful, and Successful
Author: Lynne Azarchi
Genre: Non Fiction
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (November 4, 2020)
Source: TLC Book Tours
We live in a time when empathy is not only lacking but on the decline. Kids are bullied because of the color of their skin, religion, culture, a disability and more. Bullying and cyberbullying are increasing, especially for black and brown kids, LGBT youth, and Jewish and Muslim youth. Fueled by decreases in respect, kindness, and compassion, the house is on fire!
Empathy may be not be a cure-all, but just a little effort can transform a child into a more sensitive, caring human being. The good news is that empathy – the ability to “walk in someone else’s shoes” – can be taught. This book is all about teaching adults to teach empathy to kids. The payoff will last a lifetime.
In this helpful guide, parents, caregivers and teachers are coached to help their children and students to develop social-emotional skills that will equip them to better navigate the world with self-compassion and empathetic concern.
The Empathy Advantage is for the busiest parents and educators. It provides tips, strategies, online resources, and activities that are fun and engaging and take just 10 to 20 minutes. It emphasizes the importance of starting early, being good role models, spending quality face-to-face time together, and more. It will help readers understand the dynamics of bullying and teach children to stand up not only for themselves but others. And it explores other topics including managing media in the home, the value of pets in inculcating empathy, active listening, and self-compassion – i.e. being as forgiving and kind to yourself as you would to a friend.
About The Author:
LYNNE AZARCHI, author of THE EMPATHY ADVANTAGE, is Executive Director of Kidsbridge Tolerance Center outside of Trenton, New Jersey—a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering bullying prevention, anti-bias, diversity appreciation, empathy, and empowerment strategies for youth. She is a tireless advocate for improving the lives of at-risk youth in communities across New Jersey. Kidsbridge helps more than 2,500 preschool, elementary, and middle school students and educators improve their social-emotional skills each year. Azarchi has won many awards and her articles have been published both in newspapers and academic journals. She is a frequent speaker to parent and teacher groups, corporations and major educational conferences.
My Review:
This was a very interesting non-fiction book to pick up for non-fiction November. It reminded me a bit of something I would have read for a college class and I could see it being used in sociology or early childhood education as a textbook. While it would definitely be beneficial for educators and those who work with children, it is also important for parents to learn how teaching their kids empathy is important.
The Tolerance Center in NJ sounds like an excellent place for a class trip and I was certainly interested in the work they are doing there. I also appreciated the ideas of books and websites that can be used to educate kids and help their social emotional skills grow.
Empathy is explained as having the ability to walk in someone else’s shoes and this book did a great job of explaining why doing so is important.
Do you read any non-fiction or parenting related books? If so, add this to your list!
