{"id":2640,"date":"2017-11-14T20:38:03","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T20:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beyondmind.in\/?p=2640"},"modified":"2017-11-14T20:38:03","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T20:38:03","slug":"boost-your-childs-emotional-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/boost-your-childs-emotional-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"Boost Your Child\u2019s Emotional Intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"entry-title\">Today on children day we thought to share this interesting article on how to boost the Emotional Intelligence of your child.<\/h1>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">We all want to raise our children to be emotionally intelligent adults.\u00a0As parents, this begins by helping our children to identify, understand and begin to self-regulate the full range of human emotions.<\/h1>\n<div class=\"entry-content jpibfi_container\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"fancy-underline\" style=\"color: #993300; font-size: 150%;\"><strong>What is Emotional Intelligence?<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nEmotional intelligence is generally regarded as our ability to identify, express and control emotions. Working as a classroom teacher (and as a parent of three of my own), I know that some children are better able to adapt to and cope with new or different situations while others need to be supported and taught more intentionally how to manage their feelings.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em>When we think about our days, we understand they are filled with different emotion<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em>Happy because the sky is clear and cornflower blue when you wake up.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em>Annoyed because someone used the last of the milk before you got your coffee.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><em>Sad because a workmate is leaving for another job in a different city.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But what of our children? They are still learning to even recognize their feelings. So it\u2019s important for parents and teachers alike to help children identify, understand and communicate their feelings. Not only is this important for their own emotional development but it can also smooth the way socially, especially when a child is facing a big transition, like starting school.<\/p>\n<p>So how do we help?<\/p>\n<h2><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-3034 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/157.245.110.95\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/empathy-2-648x486-280x280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"280\" \/><span style=\"color: #993300; font-size: 23.04px;\"><strong>How to Boost Emotional Intelligence<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>1. Label the Emotions<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nTo understand anything, you first need to learn the correct language to identify and articulate your understanding appropriately. Books are a great tool to help guide a child to understanding a range of different emotions, and they help children to learn words to describe them too.<\/p>\n<p>What emotions might feel like \u2013 hot, shaky, sweaty, warm, prickly<\/p>\n<p>What emotions might sound like \u2013 loud, quiet, crackly<\/p>\n<p>What emotions might look like \u2013 pale, red, tight, flushed<\/p>\n<p>Then later, if they are feeling angry or sad, talk about how they are feeling, what made them feel that way and relate their experience back to the book by asking what colour they are at that moment.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-3044 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/157.245.110.95\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/own-a-emotion-280x280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"280\" \/><span style=\"color: #993300;\">2. <\/span>Own<span style=\"color: #993300;\"> the Emotions<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nWe all like to feel like we belong somewhere. Children can sometimes feel very confused and alone with their emotions. As adults, we can help them understand that a range of emotions is perfectly normal by simply talking aloud about how we are feeling at different times.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m so angry at myself right now. I forgot to pick up the cake I ordered for the party tomorrow. Now I\u2019m going to have to make a special trip to collect it but I know I shouldn\u2019t drive when I\u2019m feeling like this so I might go for a walk outside first before I leave to calm down.<\/p>\n<p>It can feel strange and forced but it is so valuable for our children to hear that how we feel is exactly how they feel sometimes, and if you include what you do to change how you are feeling, then they have some tools to try too. \u2028\u2028I\u2019m an advocate of physical activity so instead of hitting a pillow, try bouncing a ball as hard as they can, running to touch different objects in the backyard or jumping on the trampoline as high as they can. Some children will prefer quiet instead \u2013 like a safe place to go and read or draw.<\/p>\n<p>Give your child space and direction they need to manage their big emotions, and then try to talk to them later (when they are calmer) about what happened.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3045 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/157.245.110.95\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/paint-hands.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"256\" height=\"250\" \/>3. Show Them You Care<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nShowing your children that you care about them and what is happening in their world is so important.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes they just need to know you are listening to them, that you empathize with them even if you can\u2019t fix it for them or agree with them.\u00a0Sometimes they might just need help to navigate the complex reality of some friendships.<\/p>\n<p>Put down your device, sit down to dinner regularly and have a conversation with them remembering that children up to ten years of age are very literal. If you tell a child you miss them when they go to school, they might then want to stay with you because they don\u2019t want you to feel sad.<\/p>\n<p>Children need to know that you are their biggest fan and love them but that you might not always like what they are doing or saying. The two things must be kept separate and you have to make this distinction clear to your child whilst making them feel safe enough to feel and express all of their emotions.<\/p>\n<p>I love you but I don\u2019t like it when you yell at your sister that way.<\/p>\n<p>You look upset. Do you want to tell me what\u2019s happening?<\/p>\n<p>Being able to let it all out whether it\u2019s at 3, lying on the floor kicking and screaming, or slamming doors in their wake at 14, most of us feel better when these emotions are released.\u00a0Showing your child they can express their emotions in a variety of ways that don\u2019t hurt or harm is important. Expressing emotions through art or writing can be very self-empowering too.<\/p>\n<p>Going back to my own school starter, she was overwhelmed being at school all day but would contain these emotions until she got safely home and then it would spill out everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>Sound familiar?<\/p>\n<p>Throw in some homework and by the end of the term, most nights were a mess. To help her, we decided, with the support of her teacher, to give her some days off school here and there and, unlike a sick day, we would spend the day doing things together she enjoyed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 100%; color: #993300;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/beyondmind.in\/2017\/02\/20\/few-things-to-say-to-you-child\/\">You can also try saying some interesting words go this link\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content jpibfi_container\">\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">4. Build a Toolbox<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nEmotions can run high and low. As I explain to my children, as adults we don\u2019t feel happy all the time but we don\u2019t feel sad all the time either. Every day can be a mix of emotions. Teaching our children how to recognize and express their emotions without impacting others is key. As they grow, we can then teach them how to best manage their emotions as well.<\/p>\n<p>We need to equip our children with some tools to help them manage their emotions while understanding that emotions are simply our bodies way of sending us messages, a signal to something in their lives that needs to be handled differently.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Imagine this\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-3042 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/157.245.110.95\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/mall-santa-confessions-620ds121112-280x280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"280\" height=\"280\" \/>Visiting Santa, you feel your child\u2019s hand tighten in yours as you get to the front of the line. They\u2019re quiet, eyes darting. You ask if they feel okay and they reply that their stomach feels tight and shaky. Santa looks scary and the mall is too loud.<br \/>\nDo you insist that Santa is friendly and then plonk your child down on his knee ready for a photo before darting out of the shot?<br \/>\nOr do you tell your child that it\u2019s okay to feel that way and ask them what they would like to do? Leave and forget the whole thing or offer to be in the photo with them?<\/p>\n<p>When children are younger they may need your support to see past the immediate problem but as they get older, we want them to have developed some resilience and emotional intelligence to solve their own problems, with us playing more of a backup role.<\/p>\n<p>If we can help our children to do that, to develop a high level of emotional intelligence, we will hopefully be making the world they live in as adults a kinder, more compassionate place to live.\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 85%;\">Credits: Article contents are by Nicole and\u00a0 Image Credits: Blend \/ Getty Image<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"alt-font\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">At<\/span> <span class=\"fancy-underline\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Beyond Mind<\/strong> <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #808080;\">we help you find ways to enhance your<\/span><b>\u00a0<span class=\"fancy-underline\" style=\"color: #993300;\">&#8220;Emotional Intelligence&#8221;<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"alt-font\"><a href=\"https:\/\/beyondmind.in\/elements\/pages\/contact\/\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong> Contact us today<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today on children day we thought to share this interesting article on how to boost the Emotional Intelligence of your child. We all want to raise our children to be emotionally intelligent adults.\u00a0As parents, this begins by helping our children to identify, understand and begin to self-regulate the full range of human emotions. What is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c4efilms.com\/msc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}