The difficulties and uncertainties in the past few years due to the pandemic have significantly introduced new challenges for the future. The unexpected times were overwhelmingly emotional, which were experienced by you and your family. You might have encountered a situation a couple of times where if one of your children starts to cry, the other will also start crying, and you cannot stop laughing. It is because emotions are contagious. It is where the children see the reflection of someone else’s emotions by looking at their actions or expressions.
There are numerous studies that particularly address children’s normalcy in their lives. The development of emotional intelligence through learning has progressively enabled us to identify and manage children’s emotions.
Some say that emotional intelligence is more crucial than developing your IQ, as the former can help in building a successful life. High emotional intelligence in children leads to more friends and better performance; eventually, they become better leaders. Therefore, raising your child with emotional intelligence is increasingly becoming important.
In this blog, we have provided insight into different ways to develop emotional intelligence in children.
Steps to Nurture Emotional Intelligence in Children
Being a parent, what should you keep in mind for raising an emotionally intelligent child? Do you know where to begin? Here are the top parenting tips for childcare that will help you build emotional intelligence in your child-
Listen to the Child’s Feelings and Emotions
Always remember, the rage will not dissipate until it feels heard. Even though your child is 6 months or sixteen, they need you to listen to their expressed feelings. Whatever they feel, they express and let them go. In fact, you will be amazed at how affectionate and cooperative they get when they show you their feelings. However, they feel scared and to make them feel safe; you need to be fully present for them. Assure them that they are safe. What is your actual job here? Only be present with your child and resist the urge to make those troublesome feelings disappear. Your child knows instinctively how to heal themselves.
When we help our children feel safe enough to express and feel their emotions, we are not only healing their psyches and bodies; rather, we are trusting their emotional process so that they can handle their emotions as they grow without repression.
Allow Expression
Your little ones cannot differentiate between their emotions and their own ‘selves.’ Accept your child’s emotions instead of denying or minimising them which can make them feel shameful or unacceptable. Disapproving their anger or fear will not stop their feelings; rather it will force them to repress it. Unfortunately, these repressed feelings stay with the child if the feelings are not expressed or let go. In such cases, children will feel trapped and look for ways to escape their feelings. As they are not under conscious control, they will have nightmares, get nervous, etc. Instead, teach them that their feelings are respected and part of life. Acceptance of feelings helps children understand that their emotional life is not dangerous, shameful, and in fact, manageable and universal. Let them understand that they are not alone and that even their emotional side is acceptable.
Acknowledging a child’s Perspective and Empathise
Even when you cannot do anything about your child’s mental state or are upset, empathise. Being understood helps humans feel safe, and they let go of troubling emotions. If your child is upset or you notice a difference in their behaviour, remember that each of us store emotions and experience them more than once in life. Then we can let it go and move on. Empathizing does not mean you agree; it just makes them feel understood. We all know that it feels good to be acknowledged. By developing emotional intelligence in children, you are helping them to reflect on their experiences.
Provide your child with assurance
When you notice a negative pattern developing in your child, recognize that there are some big and deep feelings they cannot handle. In such cases, the best medicine is to step in! For instance, your four-year-old might always want mommy around. Instead of taking this personally, help them work through their feelings as they prefer to be around their mommy and assure them that they’ll always have you around to take care of them. Each child experiences big feelings. They often feel powerless and pushed around, sad, angry, frightened, or jealous. But emotionally balanced children process these feelings effectively. Making them laugh helps release stress hormones, just like their tears,
Conclusion
In the end, all of us want what is best for our children. We want them to be happy, productive, well-adjusted adults who can have a healthy and enjoyable life by being the best version of themselves. True, spending time on the academics and skills required is important, and so does the development of emotional intelligence. At such a time, if you’re seeking any help for your child, a reliable daycare is your one-stop solution. IPSAA daycare in Gurgaon embraces all your child’s flaws and helps them build the emotional intelligence needed to prosper in life. For more info, visit our website https://ipsaa.in/.
