The emotional intelligence is perhaps the most precious gift that a parent can give a child. The emotional quotient helps a child deal with relationships to manage stress; therefore, it becomes an important factor in making a person into the good or bad entity in life. It is a recognized fact that children with high emotional quotient are likely to have good mental health, better social connections, and succeed in their academic performance. The book compiled from research has ideas that can shoot up emotional intelligence in our children.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Goleman (1995) mentions that emotional intelligence has self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and socialization as its five facets. Teaching these skills early in a child’s life helps develop resilience and better interpersonal relationships.
Research: According to findings by the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, children who had greater emotional intelligence were reported to have better academic performance and fewer concerns in behavioral terms.
Takeaways:
- Help children find and label their feelings.
- Model healthy emotional expressions.
- Value their feelings, not dismissing them.
2. Fostering Open Communication
Open communication is trust and art of expressing thoughts in the language of effective articulation, as children now need a space where they can bask with all their emotions.
Research: This study from Harvard University finally concludes that the ability to talk substantively with their parents from time to time seems to be “a good way of learning and improving emotional regulation during development.”
Here are Tips You Can Use:
- On the daily calendar of days, keep reminding that you will discuss feelings.
- Be on the lookout for active listening, including making eye contact and responding thoughtfully.
- Do not dismiss their concerns.
4. Solving Problems and Coping Skills to Teach
Children with education related to emotional intelligence are pretty well-known about dealing with problems and failures and do not seem to carry that kind of baggage with it.
Research: According to the report of the study conducted by the American Psychological Association, providing children with positive problem-solving techniques keeps emotional anxiety from dominating using behaviors.
Methods:
- Encourage brainstorming: ask for many possible solutions to a problem.
- Teach deep-breathing and mindfulness skills for controlling stress.
- Normalize mistakes being good for growth.
5. Cultivating Empathy and Compassion
Central to emotional intelligence is empathy. It is the means by which children can appreciate and correlate with the feelings of others.
Research: Work at the University of California has demonstrated that children classified as empathetic tend to have larger social associates and lesser interpersonal aggressions.
Practical Emotions to Develop Empathy:
- Discuss with the children the emotional experiences of characters they read about.
- Encourage volunteering, and random acts of kindness.
- Encourage perspective-taking questions: “I wonder what she is feeling?”
6. Walk the Talk
Children learn by observing their parents. When their parents speak well emotionally, they learn valuable things that lead them in life. Research: A longitudinal study of the University of Michigan has shown that children raised by those parents with emotional intelligence are also going to be most likely ever higher in emotional regulation and problem-solving.
Some of the parent actions to be undertaken:
- Be quick to show example of calm, constructive responding to stress.
- Have and apologize for your wrongs.
- Share your feelings constructively.
7. Encourage Emotional Linguistics in Play
Play, by its nature, gives children room to explore feelings and social skills.
Research: The report by the National Institute for Play states that role-playing and storytelling boost emotional intelligence because they allow children constantly to practice social interactions.
Activities to Consider:
- Teach the children states of feeling using flashcards of emotions.
- Practice different social scenarios through roleplay.
- Play turn-taking games requiring cooperation and patience.
8. A Supportive Environment.
An emotionally supportive environment leads to children feeling safe and valued, honing emotional intelligence.
Research: The nurturing environment study published in the Journal of Family Psychology states that emotionally intelligent behaviors are in heavy numbers in the mold, now self-esteem happens to scale high along it.
Ways to Provide Support:
- Praise the effort, not just the outcome.
- Establish routine structures for daily living.
- Model patience and reassurance through emotional challenges.
Final thoughts
For the most part, it is a long-term process that requires endless time, consistency, and intentionality in teaching children to be emotionally intelligent. It essentially entails nurturing their emotional awareness of communication, empathy, and resilience, thus preparing them for probable very important skills needed in an extremely busy and changing world.
One can suffice it to say: Start small; put that change into your daily discursive activity; and after some time, you’ll see that child sprout into your dream by being emotionally smart and empathetic.
