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Emotional Intelligence for children

Hello if you are here you want to know how create successful children.

We can help, first let us define success. As a parent we want our child to be happy. Having the ability to create longlisting relationships, scoring high on the happiness index has much more value than a degree at a prestigious university. When we lead our kids to know themselves when our children build deep meaningful relationships we are on the road to success.

What we are talking about is building the skill set called Emotional Intelligence. yes this is a skill that can be developed. The Adventures of Wise Owl is a tool in your parenting toolbox. This book series is a bedtime reader for children in the 8-12 year age range. Bigger than that they are a discussion book. ( as a parent stop reading at certain points and explain words or explain the situation this will allow a conversation to start which will help you understand your child’s truth. Even more important having your child understand their own truth. Here is a link to go to our website, where you will find more information + a buy button if you want to order your books today.

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Understanding Emotional Intelligence

The Importance of Emotional Intelligence

What Is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and process their thoughts and feelings, as well as understanding the feelings of other people. Those with emotional intelligence can understand other people and communicate with them effectively. The idea of emotional intelligence is made up of five key pillars. Let’s take a closer look:

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness involves individuals knowing how they are feeling, understanding how their moods impact others and making them feel this way.

Self-Regulation

With self-regulation, a person can deal with their emotions effectively. Instead of reacting impulsively, they consider the impact of their actions before responding to their feelings.

Motivation

When a person is motivated, they are likely to accomplish their goals, even when they may be experiencing negative emotions that would normally impact their progress.

Empathy

Perhaps most importantly, emotional intelligence includes a high level of empathy, meaning that a person can then understand the feelings of others and how to respond to them.

Social Skills

Due to understanding other emotions, emotional intelligence is also linked to social skills, with a person being able to better manage their relationships. This is because they are more aware of their family and friend’s emotions and how this may impact their behaviour. It allows them to be more understanding and communicate more constructively.

Why Is Developing Emotional Intelligence Important For Children?

Children face a number of different challenges every single day, and having a good level of emotional intelligence can help them with this. Without emotional intelligence, tasks that are easy for your child’s peers may be more difficult.

Your child will find it harder to concentrate, study and attain without a level of emotional intelligence, and it could also negatively impact children’s mental health if they lack motivation and do not understand how they are feeling and how to ask for help. Emotional intelligence is effectively a roadmap that allows children to navigate through life, responding to any barriers along the way.

With emotional intelligence, a child is more likely to realize when they are becoming frustrated or overwhelmed, allowing them to then process their feelings and find a solution. Instead of responding with a tantrum, crying or screaming, they are able to evaluate the situation and communicate how they are feeling to those around them. They are more likely to become resilient, ask others for help, and not give up if they find something difficult, and therefore developing this emotional intelligence is vital.

The Benefits of Emotional Intelligence

Developing emotional intelligence at any age has been found to have a number of benefits, however, it is easier to do this when children are younger. Developing emotional intelligence early on will have instant positive benefits on your child and benefits that will see them through life.

Firstly, studies have shown that a higher level of emotional intelligence have a higher mental intelligence also – with them scoring higher in tests and getting better final grades. It can also lead to better mental health, which is essential now more than ever, as children’s mental health issues are on the rise. Research has shown that more emotional intelligence means that a child is less likely to experience depression and other mental health conditions.

Increasing a child’s emotional intelligence helps them deal with stressful situations, manage conflict and connect better with others, leading to better relationships. This occurs in their personal lives and their working or school lives as they grow older.

When emotional intelligence is developed during childhood, it is linked to better success as they grow up in life. One study, for example, found that children who can work with others, cooperate and control their emotions have a higher chance of gaining a college degree and having a full-time job by the age of 25.

Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?

Absolutely, emotional intelligence can be developed at any age, however, the younger, the easier this will be. The best way to develop emotional intelligence is through the use of role models such as parents, teachers and leaders, and examples through stories and real experiences. Every person has the capacity to grow their emotional intelligence, but how do they do this?

The Importance of Parents In Developing Emotional Intelligence

Parents are one of the key learning resources that children have to help develop their emotional intelligence. There is never a time that is too late to develop these skills, and emotional intelligence can develop over time with support, nurturing, and practice. Even if your child experiences learning difficulties or other disabilities, emotional intelligence can still be worked on, albeit it may be at a slower pace.

While schools and extracurricular activities may offer or support Social and Emotional learning, this should be done alongside developing this skill at home. With your child, there are many ways to develop this emotional intelligence.

Firstly, ensuring that you discuss challenges with your child is vital – it is important that they feel they can come to you if they are struggling with an issue. When discussing these issues, listen to how they are feeling and help them put a label to their feelings – naming their emotions, so they become able to identify these themselves.

Work together with your child to discuss their actions is also a great way to enhance emotional intelligence. If your child makes a bad decision or over-reacts, give them time to calm down before brainstorming ways that they could have alternatively dealt with the situation. Being able to reflect and control your emotions is essential when developing emotional intelligence. Finally, building empathy is essential, and a great way to facilitate this is by letting them help others, whether it is helping an elderly neighbour or volunteering with you for a charity.

A great way to develop emotional intelligence is by discussing emotions, reactions and positive actions through accessible stories with characters that they can connect to. Having worked to develop empathy in my students for many years at my martial arts school, I have transferred this to a series of books designed to aid discussion and the development of this essential skill set. You can find more details

Let the Journey begin