7 Meaningful Ways to Raise Compassionate Kids
If you’re hoping to raise compassionate kids—children who care deeply about others, pray with empathy, and see beyond their own world—you’re not alone. Most of us long to see our children grow into people who love God and love others with genuine, thoughtful hearts.
But compassion doesn’t just happen. It’s something we nurture over time, through intentional habits, honest conversations, and Christ-centered practices like prayer. One of the most powerful ways to start? Helping kids connect with the needs of others—both near and far—and guiding them to bring those needs to God.
But not just any prayer. Compassionate prayer—prayer that lifts up others, especially those beyond our immediate circles—helps children shift their focus outward. It grows both gratitude and a deeper understanding of how big God is and how wide His love reaches.
Raise Compassionate Kids Through Everyday Moments
You don’t need a complicated system or big, dramatic moments to raise compassionate kids. Some of the most powerful lessons happen quietly—in the everyday rhythms of your home. Small conversations, consistent prayers, and simple acts of kindness can shape your child’s heart over time.
Here are some meaningful ways to begin:
1. Let Prayer Start Young (and Imperfect)
Children don’t need polished words or deep theology to talk to God. Some of the most sincere prayers come from the smallest voices. God encourages us to be like the little children so we really need to be more child-like ourselves. So, begin by encouraging simple, heartfelt prayers. Invite your children to pray for others they know—and for others they don’t. Start small: “God, please help the kids who don’t have clean water,” or “Thank you for my warm bed; help other kids feel safe tonight.”
Remind your child often: they don’t need to have the right words. God hears our heart and innermost desires.
2. Pair Prayer with Awareness
Compassion grows when it’s rooted in understanding. When children learn about others’ needs, especially children around the world, it opens their hearts to empathy. Whether through books, videos, or age-appropriate news stories, exposure to different cultures and global realities can spark meaningful conversations and lead to heartfelt prayers.
3. Model It in Your Daily Life
Children are always watching. If you want to raise kids who care deeply for others, let them see you praying for neighbors, grieving over tragedies, or supporting missions and outreach efforts. Talk about what burdens your heart—and invite them into those moments.
4. Create a Family Rhythm of Praying for Others
Compassion doesn’t grow from one-time moments. Like any habit, it takes regular practice. Try creating a weekly or monthly focus where your family learns about a new country, culture, or people group and prays for their needs.
Here are a few simple ways to start:
Use a globe, map, or prayer calendar to highlight new regions.
Pray for specific prayer requests from international ministries or missionary newsletters.
Pair cultural exploration (food, music, stories) with intentional prayer.
5. Help Kids Notice Needs—and Trust God With Them
As children grow, they naturally start to notice the world around them—including the needs and hurts of others. We don’t have to rush these realizations or introduce heavy topics too early, but when questions do come up, we can walk alongside them with care and faith.
Rather than shielding them from every hard thing, we can gently guide them to bring those concerns to God. When a child hears about someone who is sick, they can talk to God about it.
Simple prayers like:
“God, please help them feel better today.”
“Thank You for being with them.”
“Show us how to care.”
These quiet moments of prayer remind children that God sees, God hears, and God cares—even when things feel too big for us.
6. Incorporate Creative Practices
Compassionate prayer can be woven into your homeschool or family rhythm through interactive activities. Try these:
Prayer Journals or Letter-Writing: Encourage children to keep a journal where they write or draw prayers for others. Or have them write letters to missionaries, sponsored children, or friends, adding those people to your prayer time.
Group or Sibling Prayer: Let your kids take turns praying together and for each other. This builds confidence, community, and shared responsibility.
7. Reinforce God’s Faithfulness
Above all, continually point your children back to God’s love, faithfulness, and power. Teach them that we pray not because we have all the answers, but because we trust the One who does. Let them rest in the truth that God is always present—even when we don’t see outcomes right away.
Raising Compassionate Kids is a Long Game
Compassion isn’t something you can cram into a weekend lesson or check off a to-do list. It’s formed over time through repeated exposure to the needs of others, through honest conversations, and through regular moments of prayer and reflection. It’s a long game that’s built on consistency, curiosity, and Christ-centered love.
That might feel like a lot—but you don’t have to do it perfectly. You just have to begin.
Books can be a beautiful way to plant those first seeds. Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World (scroll to the bottom for a chance to win a copy for your family) is one such tool—a gentle, relatable story that shows kids how prayer and compassion can go hand in hand. It opens up space for questions, conversations, and deeper awareness, making it an ideal starting point for families looking to grow a heart for others.
About the Book
Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World, written by Helen Lee and illustrated by Shin Maeng, follows Kaylee, a young girl who regularly explores the newspaper with her grandfather, Halbi. The reason they do this? To learn about the lives and struggles of children around the world so that they can lift them up in prayer.
As Kaylee becomes more aware of the suffering others endure, she also feels the overwhelming weight of it. She struggles to organize her thoughts and isn’t sure how to pray for such big concerns. But with Halbi’s guidance—and by asking the Holy Spirit for help—Kaylee learns that she doesn’t have to pray perfectly. The story ends with “peace blooming” within her heart as she experiences the joy of prayer and God’s love for all children.
Shin Maeng’s illustrations beautifully enrich the story, bringing diverse cultures to life with vibrant, stylized images filled with color, emotion, and warmth.
About the Author
Helen Lee draws from her own experience as a homeschooling mom of three sons to craft this story. In her author’s note, she shares that Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World was inspired by their study of global cultures and their family’s practice of praying for people around the world.
As a homeschooling mom, I appreciated observing the beautiful mixture of cultural awareness and learning, geography, and intentional, faith-filled family habits in this book. It’s not something you often see blended so thoughtfully in children’s literature, but it speaks to and connects with a large portion of Christian parents and educators/ homeschooling parents today.
About InterVarsity Press
Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World is published through InterVarsity Press, which has been publishing Christian books and educational resources since 1974. Their mission statement (as found on their Website) is: “To create and publish resources that deepen lives in Christ to engage the university, the church, and the world.” They publish work of a vetted team of authors to provide excellent Christian writing for Biblical scholars, those in the ministry, Christian readers, and now children, as well!
Recommended Age Range
Amazon recommends this book for ages 4–8, and I think this is generally an ideal age range for this story. Its accessible language, relatable characters, and captivating artwork make it perfect for early to upper elementary readers—whether reading independently or alongside a parent. That said, I do think this book could be enjoyed across a broader range of ages, particularly in a family or homeschool setting. My son is 2 and my daughter is 9, and they both connected with it at different levels.
Though the text was easy for my daughter to read, she enjoyed it and the message still prompted good discussion. My son, while too young to fully grasp the story, was drawn to the vividly beautiful illustrations and loved exploring the pages. We are currently teaching him to say simple prayers, and I can easily see this book becoming a meaningful resource to revisit as he grows.
Things We Loved About This Book
Though it’s a relatively short story, Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World is packed with meaningful moments and is a terrific tool in our goal to raise compassionate kids! Here are a few things my children (ages 2 and 9) and I especially loved:
- The stunning illustrations.
From the very first page, Shin Maeng’s artwork captivated us. The vivid colors, swirling skies, collages of diverse people groups, and the tender way light and darkness are portrayed all pull readers in. My toddler loved spotting Keedo—the adorable dog hidden on nearly every page—while my 9-year-old and I were especially moved by the page illustrating the Holy Spirit interceding in prayer. (It’s breathtaking.) - The honest handling of hard emotions.
The book doesn’t shy away from the emotional weight that comes with compassion. It gently acknowledges the real heaviness we sometimes feel when praying for others’ hardships—a feeling that is difficult for both kids and adults. I loved how it models inviting the Holy Spirit to help, making big concerns feel less overwhelming and prayer more approachable. - The relationship between Kaylee and her grandfather.
Halbi’s role as a mentor is so beautifully portrayed. He’s a steady, loving presence, helping Kaylee learn that prayer isn’t something she has to figure out alone. My grandfather and I used to look at the paper together, so that resonated with me on a personal note. There is just something so reassuring about a good grandfather and his ability to lead by example. I especially appreciated the scene where they pray aloud together, each speaking different words. This is a valuable reminder that prayer can be both deeply personal and communal! - The inclusion of real-world cultures and global geography.
I love that this book actively invites readers to think beyond their own experience and imagine the lives of children across the world. The subtle inclusion of maps and cultural illustrations adds richness without feeling heavy-handed. - The way it points us back to God’s faithfulness.
At the end of the story, Kaylee reflects that although she may never know what happens to the boy in Turkey, she can trust that God is with him—and she can continue praying as the Spirit leads. This is such a beautiful reminder that we pray in faith and, just as importantly, we trust in faith. Even when we don’t see the outcomes, God’s hands are big enough to hold every need. - A fun detail kids will love.
Keedo, the little dog who appears throughout the story, gets his name from the Korean word for “pray”! My kids delighted in spotting him on each page.
Ways to Use This Book in Your Homeschool
One thing I absolutely loved about this book is that the author, Helen Lee, was a homeschooling mother. Her experience of intentionally blending cultural awareness and prayer into her family’s learning definitely shines through in Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World. At the end of the book, she shares more about what this looked like in their own homeschool, along with some practical ways to continue to explore these topics in the readers’ family and/or homeschool setting. These include ideas like finding your own method as a family to become more globally minded and culturally aware (like the way Kaylee and her grandfather make a habit of exploring the newspaper) and practicing tongsung kido) as well as a few others. Below, I’ve combined her suggestions with a few of my own in case you are interested in extended learning in your homeschool as you seek to raise compassionate kids.
Letter-Writing & Prayer Journaling:
Encourage your child to choose a friend—or a circle of friends—to write letters to and pray for regularly. This is a way to make the practice of prayer more active and intentional!
World Prayer Focus:
Each week, learn about a new people group. Locate them on a map, study a few cultural facts, and spend time praying for their needs. This could be a great thing to include in a geography study.
Study the Lord’s Prayer:
Memorize it together and explore what Scripture teaches about prayer and God’s heart for the world. This is the perfect activity for younger kids, but can prompt deeper conversations with older children as well.
Siblings in Prayer:
Create time for siblings to pray together, incorporating prayer into the foundation of family life and relationships (the way it is for Kaylee and Halbi).
Try Tongsung Kido:
Inspired by the book, practice tongsung kido—a form of communal prayer where everyone prays aloud at the same time, a beautiful tradition common in parts of Asia and Africa. You could also learn more about the ways that different cultures pray in community.
Find Your Family Global Prayer Rhythm:
Use a globe, a calendar, or printed photos to create a central reminder to pray for those around the world and build a family rhythm of praying for different regions and cultures weekly.
Have additional ideas?
Have you read this book? Or do you have some other ideas on how this concept could be expanded upon in a homeschool setting? We would love for you to comment and share your insights!
Final Thoughts
Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World is a simple, yet profound and well-crafted, story. It invites children to make it a priority to care about others, to pray regularly, and to trust in God’s goodness, wisdom, and care.
I love that the story doesn’t shy away from the fact that it can sometimes feel heavy or difficult to think about others’ suffering. At the same time, it gently reminds us that this is a burden worth noticing when it comes to our desire to raise compassionate kids. Our concerns for others are worth caring about, and ultimately, worth handing over to God through prayer. I also love how it reinforces the idea that we don’t have to have the perfect words—that even in the act of prayer, God can help us through His Holy Spirit.
With its relatable characters, gorgeous and unique illustrations, and heartfelt message, this book offers beauty, simplicity and spiritual depth. In particular, I think it is a real treasure for families who want to nurture a meaningful prayer life and cultivate a spirit of global compassion in their children. This is a great book to have in a household and share among children of different ages. It lends itself beautifully as an anchor for family or homeschool prayer time, to geography or cultural studies, or simply as a steady reminder to seek out prayer projects on a regular basis.
Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World would make an excellent addition to family libraries everywhere. It’s an especially perfect gift for a young family, children who have an interest in other cultures or a heart for missions, homeschooling families, and anyone wanting to raise compassionate kids who are prayer warriors. We are so glad to own a copy of this wonderful book, and I will be recommending it to others!
If you’d like to bless a child or family in your life with a copy of Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World, you can find out more about it or order it from Intervarsity Press or Amazon. Let’s all do our best to raise compassionate kids!
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Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World
