Family Values: How Kids Learn Cooperation

Tune In to Your Child

The seeds of cooperation are planted very early, when parents tune in and respond to their young child’s needs. Try mirroring exercises: When you smile into your child’s eyes or synchronize your movements to his, it creates a harmonious rhythm that says to the child, “Mom and Dad understand me.” As kids get older, listening empathetically to them--even as you make demands or enforce rules--continues to foster the good feeling of reciprocity, the give-and-take that underlies cooperation.