How to boost your child’s emotional intelligence?
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We all want best for our children and we want them to be happy no matter what. However, instead of giving our best to teach them how to lead a happy life, we should invest our strength into teaching them how to be emotionally healthy. That will lead them to a happier and more satisfying life. So, you better start early and learn how to teach your child to boost your child’s emotional intelligence.
Listen to your child’s feelings
Just remember how many times you wished someone listened to your feelings and understood them. That’s exactly what your child needs from you. If they are angry or sad, they will not get better until their feeling is heard, no matter what age they are. Once your child starts expressing their feelings, you should listen to them, let them feel those feelings and they will easily let them go and move on. It is amazing how much more cooperative children are when you let them show what they feel. Plus, they can easily let their feelings wash over and out once they are sure it’s safe to express them. Then, all it’s left is relaxation and cooperations.
Grab a few books
If you educate yourself on emotional intelligence, it will be easier to transfer that knowledge on your child. Research has shown that when you read literary fiction, you can really improve your own emotional intelligence and your sense of empathy. Literary fiction focuses on characters, their lives, emotions and relationships, which teaches us to understand others and their feelings. This will help you become more aware and it will improve your social behaviour which you can easily use to better understand your child. What is more, you can read with your children and teach them the same thing. If you discuss a bit about characters you will create a strong bond with your little one and they will start to better understand others, which will later help them control their emotions and become more intelligent.
Get them to do sports
Playing team sports can greatly help your child boost their EQ. Through sports, children will learn how to work in team, how to manage their emotions and how to compete in a more positive way. If they or their team lose the game, they will learn how to manage that frustration in a healthy way, which can later help them do the same in adulthood.
You can easily sign them up for soccer, tennis, martial arts, or any other sport and they are all boudn to teach them mindfullness and boost their emotional intelligence and health. What is more, you can sign them up for golf, like most of the parents in China do, and let them overcome their anxiety, shyness and boost EQ. If you do decide for such a sport, it is essential to get them right equipment, like with any other sport. However, here you have to be extra careful with safety and make sure to find them safest and best kids golf shoes and know that your child is having fun and preparing for a healthy life.
Sign them up for the scouts
By signing up your little ones for Boy or Girl Scouts, you will help them learn how to improve themselves and their social skills. In Girl Scouts, girls will learn how to work together on projects and they will learn how to be responsible for their own goals and achievements, while in Boy Scouts, the boys will learn discipline and determination. Along mastering these skills, your little boys and girls will learn how to manage their emotions, express them better and how to focus on how to turn those emotions into something rewarding and to achieve their goals.
Teach problem-solving
Whenever your child is expressing an emotion, they are trying to send you a message. That is why you shouldn’t let your child wallow in them, but rather, teach them to breathe through them, feel them, and get over them. Your job here is to tolerate them, listen to their emotions without the need to act on them. However, once you lose the grip of strong emotions, it is time to teach them how to solve the problem and act if necessary. Once their emotions are heard, they will be open for problem-solving, and sometimes they will even do that themselves.
On the other hand, they might need a bit of your help when it comes to brainstorming in order to handle whatever is bothering them. But, you have to keep in mind that you don’t have to rush in and handle every problem they have, sometimes, they need to do it on their own, and they will ask for help once they cannot overcome the problem themselves.
No matter how much you want to focus on your child’s happiness, you have to think about their emotional intelligence first. If they know how to handle their emotions in the right way, and how to become independent, they will have no issues with becoming healthy and happy adults. So, teach them about their emotions and help them boost their EQ and everyone will be much happier.