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Humans

Babies start showing empathy even before they can speak

When adults pretended to be in pain, children as young as 9 months old comforted them, pushing back the earliest age when humans are known to display empathy

By Giulia Mondaini

16 May 2025

Children can display empathy before they are old enough to talk

MStudioImages/Getty Images

Children between 9 and 18 months old already demonstrate empathy, suggesting this ability starts at an earlier age than previously thought, even for babies from different cultural backgrounds.

鈥淚f I don鈥檛 understand your emotions, I can鈥檛 communicate with you and I can鈥檛 respond to your emotions, so it鈥檚 an essential skill 鈥 but we only know how it develops in a small part of the world,鈥 says at the Leibniz…

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