Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence, also known as Emotional Quotient (EQ) is the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage and handle emotions.
A child with high emotional intelligence will be able to understand when they are expressing certain emotions and the response they are receiving through other's emotions around them.
The four attributes of emotional intelligence include:
Self-awareness
Being conscious about your own feelings and the thoughts that surround feelings
Self-management
The ability to control certain impulsive behaviours, emotions or feelings and being confident in your own strengths and weaknesses.
Social awareness
Understanding the needs, wants, concerns and emotions of those around you. Understanding emotional cues, people’s vibes and the group dynamic.
Relationship management
Developing and maintaining relationships with those around you, having clear communication and avoiding or managing any potential conflict.
Nurturing emotional intelligence in children can help them develop a whole new set of skills, help navigate social settings and cope with life’s setbacks. Emotional self-regulation can be broken down into two separate categories of:
- problem-solving
- tolerating emotions
By the age of 10, children start to comprehend and utilise emotional self-regulation.
Encouraging emotional intelligence
- model positive behaviour
- help guide the emotion your child is feeling
- validate their feelings
- help them develop problem-solving skills in situations
- praise effort and hard work
The benefits of guiding emotional intelligence
- helps creativity
- builds strong character
- improves problem-solving skills
- improves the ability to create and hold onto relationships
- improves mental health outcomes