How to raise an emotionally intelligent child?
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This article discusses ways of raising emotionally intelligent kids. The article was written solely to provide parents with tips for making their kids acquire soft skills to build emotional intelligence.
What is emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence (EQ) can, in simple terms, be defined as the ability to be smart about our own and other people’s feelings. It entails being able to notice, understand and act on emotions in the most effective way.
As a parent, among your fundamental responsibilities is to guide your child to develop their emotional intelligence, and the following are critical practices of raising an emotionally intelligent child.
Label your child emotions and help them identify them
You must be able to recognize how your children are feeling at any given time. When you suspect your child is upset, tell them, “I think you are angry right now. Is that correct?” If they appear sad, identify the source of their sadness and politely ask them why they are disappointed. The more children practice identifying and discussing their emotions, the more at ease they will be in dealing with them.
Show empathy
It is a call to all parents to validate their children’s feelings and show empathy, even if they do not understand why they are down. For instance, if your child is upset because you did not let them watch their favorite movie during study time, tell them, “like you, I am always upset when I cannot do what I want due to unforeseen circumstances.”
Model appropriate ways to express feelings
Children must be taught how to express their emotions in a socially acceptable way. While saying, “my feelings are hurt,” or making a sad face may be beneficial, screaming and throwing things are not. For example, when you feel not happy with something your kids are doing. Instead, tell them that “I feel angry for kids who do not obey their parents’ orders. “By talking this way, your kids will be able to follow your path.
Teach problem-solving skills
Make it clear and specific to the child that the initial solutions do not have to be good, but they should keep brainstorming. Then, after coming up with about five different answers, assist them in weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each. Finally, ask your child to choose the best solution he or she believes will solve the problem.
Your child may make mistakes while brainstorming and implementing solutions. When this occurs, collaborate with them to identify where things go wrong and discuss what could have been done better. To effectively raise an emotionally intelligent child, you must play the role of a coach in this problem-solving exercise.
Teach coping strategies
When your kids understand their emotions, it is time to teach coping skills. It would be best practice to teach your child how to remain calm and cheerful in stressful situations. The child must also learn how to deal with their fears. Tip: use bubble breath, a scientifically proven method to calm down your kids when they feel angry. Bubble breaths include taking deep breaths through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.
Show them that there is room for improvement
The best means to do this is to relate characters in educational movies they watch. Make them understand how a specific character in a particular show or movie acts out of emotions and how the character overcomes it, then help them relate in real-life scenarios. It is not right to deny kids access to gadgets like mobile phones because they can use them for learning purposes. You have to guard them against human traffickers by using VPNs that detect signs of grooming that may land your kid in trouble online. If they want to exchange feelings with their friends online, help them keep at bay the wicked guys online.
Do not ever punish the expression of their emotions
Your kids will grow in a series of phases in life that will make them differ from their parents in several ways. Take rebellion as a regular thing and try to mend what has been broken. Understand them and try to show them the way.
Conclusion
Teach your kids to be emotionally intelligent if you want to produce influential leaders who are team players, self-motivated, and have exceptional creative ideas.