Emotional intelligence (EQ)
Emotional intelligence, also called (EQ) is the ability to recognise, understand and manage emotions- in yourself and of others.
Children with high emotional intelligence will be able to recognise when they are expressing certain emotions and noticing how others are feeling around them.
The four areas of emotional intelligence include:
Self-awareness
Being conscious of your own feelings and understanding your thoughts and emotions.
Self-management
The ability to control impulsive behaviours, emotions or feelings and responding calmly. It also means being confident in your own strengths and weaknesses.
Social awareness
Picking up on the needs, wants, concerns and emotions of those around you. Understanding group dynamic and social cues.
Relationship management
Developing and maintaining healthy relationships with those around you, communicating clearly and managing any conflict well.
Nurturing emotional intelligence in children helps them develop a whole new set of skills, including navigating social settings and coping with life’s setbacks.
A big part of emotional intelligence is learning emotional self-regulation. There are two categories of emotional self-regulation:
- problem-solving – thinking through complex issues to find a solution
- tolerating emotions- sitting with feelings and coping in a healthy way
Most children start to build these emotional self-regulation skills by the age of 10.
As a parent, you can help by:
Encouraging emotional intelligence
- model positive behaviour
- guide or name the emotions your child is feeling
- validate their feelings
- develop problem-solving skills in situations
- praise effort and hard work.
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