At a glance
. What is Emotional intelligence?
. The plethora of benefits for your child
. Ways to develop emotional intelligence
In terms of learning vital skills and creating emotional and cognitive power that will last a lifetime, your child’s early development years are also the most fundamental and crucial.
The ability to recognize and regulate one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others around them, is referred to as emotional intelligence.
Having strong emotional intelligence could easily be the difference that sets the overall holistic development of your child apart from solely having academic success. However, most often emotional intelligence takes the back seat for parents and teachers alike.
The benefits of emotional intelligence and having a firm grasp over one’s feelings and sentiments can help advance your kids to be ready for every curve ball life may throw at them.
To name a few of these tremendous benefits of emotional intelligence:
● Healthy interpersonal relationships: Emotional intelligence helps youngsters comprehend emotions well, not only on their own but also on those around them, giving them an advantage in terms of having empathy for strangers and their peers.
● Improved Mental Health: Having strong emotional intelligence can have a significant and positive impact on how your child deals with any mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, that may rise as they grow older.
● Intrinsic Motivation: Being emotionally intelligent can help your child stay motivated in all aspects of life, even when it comes to doing things that aren’t as fun or exciting as their favorite activities. It can be the driving force that disciplines them to stay on a healthy path, even if progress appears to be slow.
● Improving their ability to express themselves: One of the most significant advantages of emotional intelligence that children reap as they tread along in life is that they are better able to understand their emotions and express themselves in a variety of ways.
These are just a few of the many advantages of emotional intelligence, but they speak for themselves. Emotional intelligence encompasses all of these tactics. Emotional intelligence comprises the ability to recognize, comprehend, express, and manage one’s emotions.
There are a variety of activities you can engage in with your child to help them develop emotional intelligence and widen their horizons, and none of them require you to memorize encyclopedias or count skyscrapers in a concrete jungle.
These are very simple everyday activities that gradually become the voice of reason in your child’s head and an integral element of his or her identity.
1. Reading to them every night even if it’s only for 10 minutes before bedtime, it will help tremendously. Making it a habit will help your child become smarter and instill the habit of reading in them, both of which have their own set of advantages.
2. Another important step you can take in this direction is to allow your child to express all emotions, including negative ones; this will help them understand that all emotions are valid for them to feel, even if it can be difficult to pinpoint how they’re feeling at times.
This provides them with the opportunity to watch, learn, and grow from each experience.
3. Practice Effective and active listening with your kid. This teaches kids patience and the importance of speaking up about their choices or problems. This also aids their public speaking abilities, as one cannot be a good orator without also being a good and active listener. So have patience and listen to your kids whenever they have something they’d like to share with you.
4. Encourage participation in sports. This is a no-brainer, but it deserves to be mentioned in any case. Playing sports can help your child develop qualities like sportsmanship, teamwork, and leadership, all of which are important components of emotional intelligence.
5. Encourage participation in arts and skills. Making your child participate and various forms of arts and crafts can also play a big role in improving their sensory receptors and developing and mastering expression which is the key to emotional intelligence.
6. Make collective efforts to solve problems and consider different perspectives. Keep an open mind about how your kid might have approached the situation differently to reach a different outcome. The ability to control emotions in order to think of solutions is a significant part of emotional intelligence.
These minor changes and efforts on your part have the potential to improve your child’s future, making them great citizens and adults while also enhancing their overall development.
