Empathy Babies (and Pets)

The Wall Street Journal reports that a Canadian non-profit, Roots of Empathy, is addressing school bullying with a novel approach--by bringing babies into the classroom. More than 2,000 empathy babies (and their moms) are in elementary school classrooms in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

The idea is to boost "emotional literacy" by having grade school and middle school kids observe the emotional connection between babies and their parents. I hate to say this, but after being a pet owner for a few months, I think you could do the same with pets and their owners. My kids and husband become different people around our cat. Do I know these people? Okay, maybe I do.

But I digress. The big question is this: Does it work?  According to the article,

"In studies involving more than 2,000 children over the past seven years, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver found a drop in aggressive behavior among students who were in classrooms with empathy babies, while there were typically increases in aggressive acts among comparison groups that didn't take the course. In one study, researchers found 88% of those children who displayed "proactive aggression"--another term for bullying--showed less aggressive behavior after taking the Roots of Empathy course."

My mind goes to whether this Roots of Empathy course could be adapted for the business world.  Cooing, burping, and spitups may be the new way of managing. Now don't get me started on that Etrade commercial from the Superbowl...