As parents, we ought to place as much on our child’s EQ as we do their IQ. Over a number of years, various studies have determined that emotional intelligence is essential to helping your child throughout the course of their lives. For starters, a healthy EQ is linked to a strong IQ too. It also helps build and maintain healthy relationships and drives success in adulthood. A high EQ is known to improve mental health, allowing your child to live a happier life overall.
How can you nurture your child’s emotional intelligence? Here are a few ways to do so.
1) Teach your child how to classify their own emotions
How does your child know what they are feeling? Better yet, are they able to identify and process such emotions? Help them name their feelings and watch as they come to understand these emotions and why they experience them. Use emotive words to build up a vocabulary that they can then draw from. Some ideas can include:
- Happy
- Sad
- Excited
- Upset
- Shy
- Overwhelmed
- Disappointed
- Angry
- Nervous
2) Show them what empathy means
A large part of teaching emotional intelligence in kids comes from setting a good example yourself. When your child is showing their emotions, don’t downplay them or tell them that they’re overreacting. This can have a negative effect on their expression as they might see showing their feelings as a sign of weakness. Never let them feel like showing emotion is wrong. Instead, validate these feelings and tell them that you understand the way that they feel. Better yet, give them an example of when you felt the same way. This will encourage them to share their emotions and show empathy to others as well.
3) Help them develop good coping mechanisms
Kids who have good coping mechanisms are less likely to fall into unhealthy patterns like
emotional eating, lashing out or even substance abuse later on. Knowing how to pick themselves up or turn their moods around is vital as children cannot always rely on others to do this for them. From effective breathing to taking a walk or even meditating, there are several ways your child can mitigate the impact of their emotions. Tap into what your child responds to and help them create a network of mechanisms that work well in difficult situations.
4) Teach them how to express themselves
There’s more than one way to show a specific feeling but some are certainly healthier than others. We suggest showing your child the right way to display their emotions. For example, crying and sitting in your room is an acceptable way to show that you are sad but breaking or throwing things is not okay. When your child knows how to represent themselves and their emotions, they’ll be able to accurately portray how they are feeling. This means less frustration for them and less guesswork for you.
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