Little Hearts, Big Questions: Navigating Global Complexity with Empathy

Yesterday, a group of six- and seven-year-olds transformed our simple flag activity into one of the most profound lessons I've had in years.

T: (Pointing at 2 countries in East Asia) Aunty, why are there only the Northern and Southern parts of this place? Why don't East and West exist?

(I was already admiring his curiosity and gave a factual answer… but he wasn't done.)

T: Aunty… is that country next to ours, our enemy?

Before I could gather my thoughts, K jumped in confidently:

K: Yes, they are our enemy.

Me: (I took a breath.) "We can't really say that. Long ago, that land and ours were part of the same big region. Later, they split and became neighbours instead. Imagine T moves to the next classroom and later comes back asking for your pencil. Would you give it to him, K?"

K: No way, aunty. Let him use the ones in his new class!

Me: "Exactly! … That's kind of what happens between neighbouring places sometimes. Does that make you and T enemies?"

K: (confused) hmmm…

T: Aunty… but you are telling differently. In the movie "Amaran," they show them fighting with guns. So, they are enemies only, aunty.

Me: hmm… that is only a movie… actually, they are not our enemies. Sometimes neighbours argue or fight, that's all.

(I was honestly stunned by how deeply they were thinking.)

K: Aunty, even that big country to the East is our enemy. V told.

Me: "Not like that… See little M here?" (She was watching quietly.) "Both of you always rush to help M when she needs something. Does that mean you two are fighting each other? No, right? People in all countries work hard, and sometimes we want similar things. We aren't enemies—we're just competing."

T: Aunty… if we both help M, why will we have to fight?

Me: (again stumped). "Let me say it differently. Imagine you two are in a running race. Will you both try your best to reach the finish line? Or will you go slowly and let your friend win? That's how countries behave sometimes—they try hard for similar goals. It doesn't mean they're enemies."

T: No, Aunty. I won't run fast. I'll go with my friend.

K: Yes, Aunty. I won't go fast against my friend.

T: Last week, I gave up my turn on the slide for my friend, Aunty.

Me: (I had nothing left to say. These children had just taught me what most adults have forgotten.) "Is it? Super. I'm so happy about both of you. Let's find the other flags and continue our work."

A Different Conversation

Two months ago, I had a very different conversation with my adolescent group during a Socratic seminar on whether our country should stop the flow of a major shared river to our neighbour after a terror attack in our own region.

Many children argued from empathy:

"It's not fair to punish ordinary people and children for what violent groups do. They're already facing drought."

But one 12-year-old spoke with chilling clarity:

"If a harmful tree grows again and again, you have to uproot it completely. Blocking the water is fair."

The room went silent. His logic was sharp. A part of me admired the articulation. Another part felt a shiver—because he had already embraced the idea of collective punishment for millions.

What This Means

Children today are soaking up strong, black-and-white opinions from movies, reels, forwarded messages, and dinner-table talk.

The world of geopolitics is painfully complex, but we're handing them ready-made labels before they can even understand the history.

I don't have answers, only questions I keep asking myself:

The Spectrum of Relationships

Relationships—between friends, siblings, or countries—are never simply binary. There's always a spectrum: closeness and irritation, trust and caution, cooperation and competition, shared memories and unresolved pain, warm seasons and colder ones.

That day, the little ones reminded me:

Openness of mind isn't something we teach children. It's something we must protect before the world teaches them otherwise.

What do you think, fellow parents and educators?

How do we raise children who are both informed and compassionate in a world that keeps pushing them toward "us vs them"?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. ❤️