ANSWERS:
Children start to show empathic and altruistic behavior towards others from a very early age. Empathic responding is a key affective ability underlying prosocial behavior, and the degree to which young children experience empathic concern for another person in distress has been shown to correlate with helping and comforting behaviors directed at this person. Children as young as 12 months show empathy and altruism. The associations between perceived parenting styles, empathy, and altruistic choices in economic games have also been studied in Chinese children. A fundamental motivating force of altruism is empathy for the suffering of another. Emotional influences such as distress and empathy can influence altruistic behavior in children. It is possible to teach children how to show empathy and altruism by demonstrating it as parents and encouraging creativity in helping someone else. Clinical studies show how important empathy and altruism can be to children of all age. Overall, children start to show empathic and altruistic behavior towards others from a very young age, and parents can encourage and foster these behaviors through their own actions and by providing opportunities for children to help others.