Monday, 13 June 2011
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When Do Babies Feel Empathy?
Yesterday, my husband and I were "play fighting" and having a tickle war, so to speak. Well, I HATE being tickled. Absolutely hate it. Hence, my loud screaming and begging to stop.
When I shouted out (in what sounded like I was in pain), my nine-month-old son, Isaiah, began to fret and was borderline crying. He had been happily playing by himself near us, so I know he was happy until then.
My husband and I stopped and stared at him in amazement, and asked each other, "Was he upset that he thought I was being hurt?" So we continued to play around, and when I screamed again, sure enough, my son looked at me with frightened eyes and made the most pitiful of noises!
Then lastly, tonight, I was crawling around on the floor with him and said "Ouch!" when my knees would make contact with the hardwood floors. Immediately at my "cry", Isaiah made the same upset face and began to whine.I tried to find articles but could find none on how early babies feel empathy or when they are upset by someone else's pain.
My question is, when do they usually start doing this? For all you moms out there, did you ever notice your child become upset at someone else's pain, and if so, at what age?
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- From: apb102088@xanga
- Name: apb102088
- About Me: Been married to my best friend for 2 years and we have a beautiful son. We are trying to finish school so that we can go to the mission field in 5-10 years so we can share the Gospel to those who have never heard.
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Comments (12)
I would say it is empathy at that age rather he is very tuned in to your emotions and if you are upset about something, he thinks it must mean he should be upset too.
@wearywalden@xanga - I agree. I can remember a time while nursing my son crying at something stupid on tv or whatever, and he reached up and touched my cheek and smiled at me. I think they empathize very very early on. Maybe even from birth. We do know they respond in utero to anger and stress. So. Not far-fetched at all.
@sarahsmurfette@xanga - aww such a sweet story
that is sweet!
My daughter, from a very young age, also hated when my SO and I would wrestle and tickle each other. She would freak out, thinking we were fighting and hurting each other. I agree with @sarahsmurfette@xanga.
I think children tend to be very in tune with their mother's emotions early on, possibly before birth. I remember the doctor saying that if mommy is upset or stressed, it can affect the baby. That's why he always told me, happy mom, happy baby.
I love the fact that my kids do empathize, like times when my husband and I play fight or pretend we're upset in a playful way. My 3 yr. old daughter will hug me, pat me on the back and says, "It's okay, Honey". Melts my heart! She also tries to tickle me to make me laugh.
Okay, I'm not comparing kids to dogs, but.. my dog does this same thing. When my husband tickles me and I screech, or I tickle him and he laughs, she jumps up and, depending on who it was, responds accordingly. If he's laughing, she licks his ears to make him laugh harder. If I was screaming, she stands in front of me to block him. When I'm sick, she lays on my feet in bed (how does she know they're cold?). My point is, if animals can be so attuned to their master's feelings, how much more does a baby feel, who lived inside you for so long and shares your genetic code? Connections between parents and babies- and of course, doggies and owners- are really amazing. They're some of the things that make life beautiful. :)
True empathy doesn't develop until much later in life the last time I studied childhood psychology. Think 7+.
He was probably responding to the fact that his provider was upset, hence, he upset.It has little to do with emotion.Babies of only a few months old can understand basic logic, morality (eg: they know when a person is being mean to them), and such, so it wouldn't surprise me if they knew empathy either. Then again, considering the importance of a parent to a baby's survival, perhaps there is some defence mechanism at play too.
Thanks for the responses. I am fascinated by my son's response, simply because I didn't think it could occur that young, but I guess so!
@zretrareo27@xanga - Do you have sources to studies?
@MommyMarty22@xanga - Yep, but it's in written form in my psychology book, so for all intents not really. That, and I don't recall the name of the book and am too lazy to go digging through my closet full of random college books.
xD