Family Values: How Kids Learn Cooperation

Raising Cooperative Children

Cooperation—working in harmony with others to achieve a goal—is vital not only to a happy, successful life but also to a more peaceful and harmonious world. Cooperation requires children to solve conflicts and exercise a certain amount of self-control and empathy—often letting go of something they want for the good of the group. Building this kind of team spirit begins in the family, where kids learn how good it feels when everyone works together. As the classic children’s song puts it: “The more we get together, the happier we’ll be.”