Raising children requires many skills that adults never knew they had, or that they would need until the moment arrives and your child needs them. You are your child’s guide and teacher in this life and teaching them how to navigate the world is a fundamental responsibility you have. One key skill that successful adults have is emotional intelligence. Here at Prosperity Day School, we help children deal with their emotions, and we know how important to help learn about emotions. If you are looking for a day care that takes care of your child’s body and emotions, call us to schedule a tour of our facility.

What Is Emotional Intelligence?

According to Daniel Goldman, an expert in the field, emotional intelligence, or E.Q., has five basic parts.

• Self-Awareness – Being aware of your own emotions and how his emotions affect others
• Self- Regulation – Being able to control your emotions and understanding the consequences of acting out on an emotional impulse.
• Motivation – Can deal with daily activities despite emotions and distractions.
• Empathy – Understanding how others feel.
• Social Skills – Can build healthy, functioning relationships and understands verbal and nonverbal signals.

How Can I help My Child Develop E.Q.?

Many people are born wired for emotion, some in a good way, and some in a challenging way. Those who have it easy are those who easily read and respond to others, intuitively pick up on the names and consequences of emotions. They tend to make friends easily and can express their emotional state and needs to adults and friends. However, there are many children for whom emotions pose a challenge. These children are very sensitive and experience their emotions intensely. When taught how to deal with their emotions they can become sensitive and intelligent adults with friends who appreciate their sensitive natures. These people make wonderful parents, artists, and friends.  But these people, as children, need some assistance to learn to deal with their emotions.

Practical Tips for Teaching Emotional Intelligence

• Teach children the names of emotions. The first step to understanding emotions is to be able to give them names. You can use magazine and movies to look at faces and teach children what facial expressions people make to express emotions.
• The next step is to apply the names of emotions to the emotions they are expressing. This skill will develop as their languages skills grow.
• Talk about your own emotions. This modeling can extend to teaching your child how you are dealing with those emotions. You can teach them a happy dance, and how to plan to work out your anger in healthy ways and to take actions to change things that are making your frustrated.
• Validate, Validate, Validate
• One of the best things you can do to help your child develop E.Q. is to validate their emotions.
• When they say they are happy, angry or scared, repeat it back to them. You can say something like (in age appropriate terms), “ Oh, you are angry because Sally took your toy, I can see how that would make you upset. What can we do to deal with the situation?”
• By doing this, you are reinforcing the emotion’s name, strategizing about how to deal with that emotion appropriately and modeling empathy for them.

To learn more about Prosperity Day School, call and schedule a tour of our facility.