July is National Make a Difference to Children month. This month long celebration is dedicating to raising awareness on the importance of guiding and supporting children through all of life's challenges and transitions. National Make a Difference to Children month began in 2006 and focuses on the issues children without support could potentially experience, including child labor, poverty, human trafficking and abuse. Throughout this month, parents, caregivers and providers are encouraged to find ways to make a difference in children's lives. One way we can do this, is by fostering emotional intelligence in our children.
In today's fast-paced world, academic success is no longer enough to ensure our children's success and happiness. Emotional Intelligence (EG) plays a pivotal role in shaping our children's futures.
What is Emotional Intelligence (EQ)?
Emotional intelligence is comprised of a range of skills that include an individual's ability to recognize, understand and manage their own emotions, while also perceiving the emotions of others. For children, these skills include developing self-awareness, empathy, social skills, and effective emotional regulation.
Why is Emotional Intelligence Important for Children?
Research consistently shows that children with higher emotional intelligence are better able to handle stress, form positive relationships and achieve academic success. Emotional intelligence not only contributes to a child's immediate happiness but also lays the foundation for long-term success in both personal and professional aspects.
Academic Success: Children with higher emotional intelligence scores perform better academically and are more engaged in their learning.
Social Competence: Children with higher emotional intelligence tend to manage conflict better and develop deeper friendships. As adults, they have better relationships in their personal lives.
Mental Health: Children with higher levels of emotional intelligence are less likely to experience depression along with other mental illnesses.
How Can We, as Parents and Providers Foster Emotional Intelligence?
Build an Emotional Vocabulary: Encourage children to label and discuss their feelings. Help them develop a deeper understanding of emotions. Using a strategy like RULER allows for children to recognize, understand, label, express and regulate their emotions.
Model Emotional Regulation: Demonstrate healthy ways to cope with stress and manage emotions. This may look like taking deep breaths, practicing positive self-talk, stating you need a break (take a walk), or use feeling words during your daily conversations.
Promote Empathy: Engage children in activities that encourage perspective-taking and understanding others' feelings. A great way to do this at home is through storytelling. While reading stories throughout the day, or at bedtime, take a few moments to reflect with your child. You might ask questions like, "How is the character feeling? How do you know they feel that way? What happened that made the character feel ___? When you feel that way, what is one thing you could do?" By asking these questions, we are not only building empathy but also self-awareness.
Build Problem-Solving Skills: Teach children how to identify problems, brainstorm solutions and evaluate their effectiveness. What worked well? What could we do differently next time?
Create a Safe Environment: Foster an atmosphere where children feel comfortable expressing their emotions without fear or judgement. This may look like daily mood check-ins or validating your child's feelings. Allow them the space to feel how they need too.
Investing in our children's emotional intelligence is one of the greatest gifts we can give them. By nurturing these skills from an early age, we are empowering our children to navigate all of life's challenges with resilience and compassion.
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