How Parents Can Foster Emotional Intelligence at Home

In the present-day world, dealing with one’s emotions is a challenging task for adults as well as children. The role of parents in nurturing their child’s EQ (Emotional Quotient) is undeniable and is especially true during the early childhood phase.

Emotional intelligence is crucial in promoting a child’s social development, mental health, interpersonal relationships and success in all aspects of life. Responding intelligently is the cornerstone of balancing one’s emotions.Parents play a pivotal role in fostering emotional intelligence in their child and making the home a safe place in which their children learn to become aware of, connect with and thoughtfully self-regulate their emotions.

However, this is easier said than done and children who do not get the much-needed support at home from their parents may lose out on an important learning opportunity that would help them deal with their emotions throughout their lives.

Here’s how parents can play an active part:

• Walk the Talk: Parents should themselves be the role models. By being good, sensitive listeners and clear, expressive speakers, they can set the norm in their households for their children to follow. Their own behaviour and response to people, situations or conflict, often serve as an effective benchmark for their children.

• Be Empathetic: Parents should be physically and emotionally present when their children need them. Lending support by showing that you understand them and respond to their emotions, validates children’s feelings, and enables them to tackle emotional confusion and overcome emotional distress. It is also a vital step towards teaching them to empathise with others.

• Hone Children’s Problem-solving Skills: Nurturing and facilitating children to handle problems that arise, would go a long way to help them in decision-making when facing challenges. Discussing real-life experiences and those they come across in books and movies would enhance their critical thinking, and reasoning abilities and also equip them to resolve disagreements peacefully.

• Cultivate Positivity: Developing a positive mindset is a lifelong investment in the growth and well-being of any child. Parents could build a positive framework by spending quality time with children, playing games, solving puzzles, creating daily affirmations and encouraging self-regulatory practices such as meditation and journalling.

For all the above, the direct involvement of parents would be impactful as the children would get the much-needed quality time to bond with them. This would be a win-win situation and have far-reaching and long-lasting consequences for the emotional betterment of the children.

Article Link:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-parents-can-foster-emotional-intelligence-home-kavita-kerawalla-vjurf