As a parent, you are responsible for encouraging your child to develop intelligence. This does not imply that your focus should be solely on helping your child excel on the academic front without paying substantial attention to the other equally important aspect of intelligence. We need to understand that ‘intelligence’ is a broad term that not only means academic intelligence but also emotional intelligence, which plays a crucial part in a child’s holistic development. There is no denying that emotional intelligence is vital for the overall growth of a child’s personality as it enables them to be sensitive to their surroundings, adapt themselves to various circumstances of life and promptly respond to them.

A person’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is often believed to determine their eventual success. However, studies have revealed that one’s Emotional Quotient (EQ) is essential to the development of personality at all stages. To be precise, EQ enables a person to understand both their own feelings and the emotions of others. Moreover, it makes a person compassionate and open-minded. Developing a good EQ at an early age, therefore, goes a long way in making a person successful in life.

Let’s take a look at how nurturing emotional intelligence in your child can be effective for their overall development.

What Is Emotional Intelligence in a Child?

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage not only our own emotions but those of others as well. It involves perceiving, comprehending and acting on emotions effectively.

Whether children are playing with friends, participating in a group activity or expressing their own feelings, emotional intelligence always plays a major supporting role.

It has been found that a child who can control their anger is more likely to succeed in difficult situations. A child who can express their emotions properly and with a calm disposition is more likely to sustain healthy connections than the one who shouts, screams, says hurtful things and loses their temper with a slight provocation.

If you are eager to understand how to develop emotional intelligence in your children, we have a good piece of news for you. Now, your children can gain emotional intelligence skills by joining our workshop on Emotional Intelligence at Viva Education.

Role of Emotional Intelligence in Everyday Life

Emotional intelligence can help your child develop strong relationships, succeed at school and work, and achieve both professional and personal goals. It can also help them connect with their emotions, follow through with their aspirations, and make informed decisions about their independent goals.

Besides the ability to perceive emotions in ourselves and others we have spoken of, emotional intelligence is also about understanding their impact, and applying that knowledge to guide our thoughts and actions. Emotionally intelligent people usually tend to get along better with others and are more empathetic and compassionate than those without emotional intelligence. That is why they are more likely to succeed than the latter. Therefore, emotional intelligence is a topic worth exploring further and should be treated at par with academic intelligence in terms of its significance.

How to Tell If Your Child Is Emotionally Intelligent

As parents, we want so much for our children, including good health, success, great relationships, and a sense of purpose in life. One thing we can do to ensure these things is to help kids develop emotional intelligence skills, which are important predictors of happiness and success.

Listed below are a few characteristics of emotional intelligence in your child.

• Ability to Recognize Non-Verbal Prompts: Like an emotional detective, an emotionally intelligent child can read other people’s emotions through body language and facial expressions.
• Ability to Display Empathy: An emotionally intelligent child not only recognizes other people’s feelings but also expresses genuine worry and offers assistance.
• Ability to Understand Emotions: Emotionally intelligent children are excellent at communicating their emotions. If your child says they are “frustrated” because they cannot solve a riddle or they feel “happy” because they helped their friend fix a toy, it means they are able to understand and share their feelings.
• Adaptability: An emotionally intelligent child can easily navigate changes in routines or handle upsetting news calmly. It demonstrates their emotional maturity.
• Composed demeanour and Ability to Handle Change: When an outdoor picnic is cancelled due to weather, instead of being unhappy or throwing a tantrum, your child quietly accepts the change and says, “Oh, it’s pouring. Let’s have an indoor picnic instead.

How to Raise an Emotionally Intelligent Child

 

Let’s now focus on how parents can encourage their children to develop emotional intelligence, leading to self-regulation, empathy and resilience.

Parents and other individuals can assist children in exploring their emotions by modelling the five abilities of emotional intelligence outlined in an article for educators in the journal Young Children.

• Recognise: How do I feel?
• Understand: What caused me to feel this way?
• Label: Which term best expresses how I feel?
• Describe: How can I best describe my views about this time and place?
• Regulate: What can I do to either keep feeling this way (if I want to) or change my feelings (if I don’t want to)?

Emotional Intelligence Masterclass for Young Minds:

Viva Education has organized a free interactive workshop for kids to help them master their inner world. Focused on age group 8 to 15, this online masterclass  will mainly focus on the following:

• Identifying and managing emotions for enhanced well-being
• Improving academics along with co-curricular performance with a progressive mindset
• Exploring how others around us might perceive the world differently
• Strengthening bond with friends and dealing with peer pressure instead of succumbing to it
• Being assertive and coping up with difficult situations

 

Wrapping Up

Our emotional intelligence workshop at Viva Education aims to create opportunities for your children’s positive social engagement. Its primary objective is to encourage cooperation, teamwork, and mutual support. This will motivate them to develop strong social skills and a sense of community. At our workshop, they will be introduced to mindfulness exercises that will help young kids enhance their emotional awareness.

Furthermore, the children will be thoroughly guided through the problem-solving process. This will assist them in describing the problem, developing possible solutions, and analyzing the benefits and drawbacks of each option. It will be instrumental in inculcating a sense of responsibility and independence in the children.

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