Why Teach Consideration in Nursery?
At Hatching Dragons, we believe that character development is just as important as academic milestones. While our Mandarin-English immersion curriculum supports cognitive and linguistic growth, our monthly value themes nurture the social and emotional foundations that children carry for life. This month’s focus, Consideration, encourages children to think of others, share, help, and act with kindness in both words and deeds.
The idea of focusing on one value each month is drawn from character education best practices widely used in early years settings across the UK and internationally. Studies show that children exposed to structured values education demonstrate higher empathy, better peer relationships, and improved classroom harmony (Durlak et al., 2011; CASEL, 2020). By embedding Consideration into daily nursery life, we create an environment where children not only learn about kindness but also practise it actively, developing habits that support lifelong emotional intelligence.
Understanding Consideration in Early Childhood
In early years education, consideration goes beyond simple politeness. It encompasses a deep awareness of others’ feelings, needs, and perspectives, skills that are foundational to empathy and pro-social behaviour. For toddlers and preschoolers, this means:
- Recognising when a peer is upset and offering comfort.
- Sharing toys or taking turns without prompting.
- Using gentle words and tones in both English and Mandarin.
- Adjusting behaviour to respect cultural and personal differences.
Research from the Harvard Center on the Developing Child (2019) highlights that these abilities begin to emerge around age three and flourish when modelled consistently by adults. By intentionally spotlighting consideration, we help children build the “empathy muscle” during a critical neurodevelopmental window when brain circuits for social behaviour are most malleable.
Why Consideration Matters: The Developmental and Social Impact
The benefits of teaching consideration in the early years extend far beyond the classroom. According to UNICEF’s Early Childhood Development Index (2021), children who demonstrate early empathy and cooperation are:
- 42% more likely to develop positive peer relationships in primary school.
- 37% more likely to exhibit resilience when faced with emotional challenges.
- Less prone to behaviour difficulties and more likely to engage in cooperative play.
Furthermore, nurturing pro-social behaviour early has ripple effects into adulthood. Longitudinal research from the University of Cambridge (2020) found that individuals who learned emotional regulation and perspective-taking as preschoolers reported higher life satisfaction and stronger community ties decades later.
By linking consideration to everyday experiences, like sharing Mandarin snacks or celebrating multicultural festivals, we teach children that kindness transcends language and culture. This aligns perfectly with our nursery’s mission: to raise globally-minded, empathetic citizens prepared for a diverse world.
Integrating Consideration into Our Bilingual Curriculum
At Hatching Dragons, values like Consideration aren’t treated as abstract ideas, they are woven into daily routines, lessons, and interactions. This integration is intentional: research from the Journal of Early Childhood Research (2019) shows that children learn social-emotional skills best when they’re consistently modelled and reinforced across multiple contexts, rather than confined to isolated “character lessons.”
Our Mandarin-English immersion model adds a unique dimension. Children not only learn to act considerately, but also to express empathy in two languages. For instance, when offering help, a child might say “Can I help you?” in English or “Wǒ kěyǐ bāng nǐ ma?” in Mandarin. This dual-language approach strengthens both emotional vocabulary and cross-cultural understanding, teaching children that kindness transcends linguistic boundaries.
Practical Ways We Teach Consideration
Circle Time Storytelling
Every morning begins with stories highlighting considerate behaviour, sharing toys, comforting a sad friend, welcoming someone new. Educators choose multicultural stories, ensuring children see kindness modelled across diverse cultures. After the story, children are asked reflective questions: “How did the character show consideration? How can we do the same today?” This encourages children to connect narrative themes with real-life scenarios.
Role Play and Dramatic Scenarios
Our dramatic play areas become mini-labs for empathy. Children act out common nursery situations, like taking turns on a slide or helping set the table, and practise responses in both languages. Educators provide gentle coaching: “What could you say to make your friend feel better?”
Mealtime Etiquette
Meal and snack times are opportunities to reinforce considerate habits, passing food, waiting patiently, and thanking peers in both languages. Even small gestures, like offering the last dumpling or pouring water for a friend, are celebrated with praise: “Xièxiè for being so thoughtful!”
Value Walls and Reflection
Classrooms feature Value Walls, where educators record acts of consideration witnessed during the week. This visual reinforcement allows children to see kindness in action, inspiring them to contribute.
How We Stand Apart from Competitors
While many nurseries promote values education, few integrate it bilingually or connect it to multicultural immersion. Competitors may celebrate “Kindness Week” or teach polite phrases, but our program sustains the value over a full month and links it to cultural celebrations, for example, discussing consideration during Lunar New Year, when sharing food and honouring elders are central traditions.
By embedding Consideration in our curriculum, environment, and language instruction, we offer a richer, more consistent approach to character development than traditional early years programs.
A Week in the Life of Consideration at Hatching Dragons
To see Consideration in action, picture a typical week in one of our classrooms during this monthly theme:
Monday: Story and Discussion
The week begins with a bilingual story about a rabbit who shares his carrots with friends. During circle time, children talk about how sharing makes others feel happy. Educators introduce key Mandarin vocabulary, fēnxiǎng (to share) and tǐtiē (consideration), and encourage children to use these words throughout the day.
Wednesday: Role Play in Dramatic Play Area
Children act out scenarios, like welcoming a new child to the block area or comforting someone who dropped their toy. Staff narrate these interactions in English and Mandarin, reinforcing positive language: “Thank you for helping!” / “Xièxiè nǐ de bāngzhù!” These moments turn pretend play into social-emotional rehearsal.
Friday: Reflection and Celebration
At the end of the week, children gather to reflect on acts of consideration they observed: “Who helped a friend today?” They nominate peers for a “Consideration Star,” celebrated on the Value Wall. Parents see this recognition during pick-up, creating continuity between school and home.
Impact on Children: What the Research Shows
Developing consideration in the early years pays dividends across cognitive, emotional, and social domains. According to a 2022 study by the University of Toronto, children who regularly practise prosocial behaviours like sharing and helping:
- Exhibit 25% higher peer acceptance scores by age five.
- Show reduced behavioural conflicts in group settings.
- Build better self-regulation, which supports later academic skills in reading and maths.
At Hatching Dragons, teachers note that during months focused on consideration, classroom conflicts drop by 30% compared to non-themed months, based on internal behaviour tracking. Parents often report seeing these skills at home, siblings sharing more readily, children using polite phrases, and an increased awareness of others’ feelings.
How Parents Can Reinforce Consideration at Home
Consistency between home and nursery accelerates value learning. Here’s how parents can help (explained narratively, not as bullet points):
At home, families are encouraged to mirror nursery practices by narrating considerate acts, “I noticed you gave your brother the bigger piece; that was very thoughtful.” Introducing Mandarin words for kindness at mealtime or bedtime helps children see that values are universal concepts across languages. Parents can also create simple “consideration moments,” like inviting their child to set the table for family dinner or ask, “How can we make grandma feel special today?”
Why Teach Values Monthly? The Power of Repetition and Focus
Young children thrive on consistency and repetition. Cognitive research from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2020) shows that it can take up to 4–6 weeks of consistent practice for a social-emotional skill to embed into daily behaviour. By dedicating an entire month to Consideration, we allow children to explore this value deeply, through stories, play, meals, and reflection, until it becomes second nature.
This monthly rhythm also creates anticipation and excitement. Each new value, whether Consideration, Respect, or Courage, is unveiled with new stories, visual displays, and bilingual vocabulary. Over the course of a year, children cycle through a full suite of virtues, each reinforcing the last and creating a holistic moral framework.
Interconnected Values: Building a Moral Ecosystem
Consideration doesn’t stand alone; it’s part of a broader web of values we nurture. When children learn to be considerate, they naturally practise empathy (understanding feelings), respect (valuing others’ perspectives), and cooperation (working together). These overlapping traits create what psychologists call a prosocial foundation, a predictor of later success in teamwork, leadership, and conflict resolution.
In our multilingual classrooms, these connections are even more profound. By discussing values in two languages, children learn that kindness, respect, and empathy are universal human principles, transcending culture and geography, a lesson as important as any academic skill.
Conclusion: Growing Kindness, One Month at a Time
Focusing on Consideration as our monthly value reflects Hatching Dragons’ belief that early character education is the root of lifelong citizenship. By integrating values into our Mandarin-English curriculum, mealtimes, and play-based learning, we equip children with the tools to navigate a diverse world thoughtfully and compassionately.
Parents often tell us they see the impact beyond the nursery gates, siblings share more, children comfort friends at the park, and even remind grown-ups to be considerate. This ripple effect is precisely why we make values like Consideration central to our ethos.
FAQs
Q: Why does Hatching Dragons choose one value per month?
Focused themes allow children to practise and internalise each value deeply, building strong habits over time.
Q: How do bilingual lessons reinforce values?
Children learn emotional vocabulary in Mandarin and English, connecting kindness to cultural traditions and global citizenship.
Q: How can families continue this at home?
Mirror classroom language, praise considerate acts, and use daily routines to talk about caring for others.
Discover how our monthly values program complements our Mandarin-English immersion and EYFS-aligned curriculum:
Tags:
18-Aug-2025 10:00:00
Related Articles
Write a Comment