Did you know nurturing emotional intelligence in children is important for their success in interpersonal and social relationships in adulthood? The concept of emotional intelligence in kids isn’t new, and today, many parents are wondering how to tap into their kid’s emotional intelligence. According to a recent study, EQ is much more important than IQ, because it relates directly to happiness and success. This is evident as many highly intelligent adults struggle in day-to-day life due to a lack of emotional intelligence. Here are a few tips from a leading child care in Five Dock on developing emotional intelligence in kids.
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional Intelligence is the term used to describe someone’s ability to express his or her emotions appropriately, to correctly interpret other people’s emotions, and to understand the triggers and outcomes of certain emotions. It’s found that kids with high emotional intelligence can be able to cope up with the emotions that help them create positive social connections. Enrolling your child in day care in Five Dock and getting early childhood education, allows them to improve their emotional intelligence and become increasingly self-aware, more effective at communicating, and better at understanding the thoughts and feelings of others.
Tips to Teach Emotional Intelligence to Children
As mentioned earlier, children with emotional intelligence are better equipped to deal with life’s challenges, such as interpersonal conflicts, stress, disappointments, and high-pressure social situations. So, it’s vital to teach your kids how to recognise their feelings, express it constructively, and identify the reasons for other’s feelings.
Five Pillars of Emotional Intelligence
- Self-awareness – The ability to recognise our own emotions.
- Self-regulation – The ability to control the reactions caused by our emotions.
- Internal Motivation – The ability to understand, think, and identify the reasons for our emotions, and what’s making us feel those emotions.
- Empathy – The tendency to understand and feel other people’s emotions.
- Social Skills – The ability to use your emotional intelligence to build and enhance strong social relationships.
Here are a few tips listed by the professionals from a Five Dock Early Childhood Centre on building emotional intelligence.
- Teach your kids about their emotions by identifying their emotions and labelling them.
- We all have our own ways of dealing with emotions. So, help your children recognise how they respond to their emotions.
- Encourage your children to share their emotions as this allows them to get a broader perspective on how to handle a problem.
- When emotions run high, explain to them that strong emotions indicate something that needs to be addressed. So, instil some problem-solving behaviour to help them work on it.
The Bottom Line
Building your child’s emotional intelligence is crucial for his or her social interaction and success. Talk to the experts from a child care in Five Dock to help you assist in improving your kids’ emotional intelligence.