Why is Emotional Intelligence Important?
Posted: October 29, 2024
By: Simrah Wasim, MS, LPC Associate
Supervised by Melissa Barton, MA, LPC-S
What do your feelings mean? How do you handle them? How do we teach our children to do the same?
Emotional intelligence means being able to recognize one’s emotions and positively manage them. Emotionally intelligent people are able to work through conflict with empathy and compassion. As children continue to grow and develop, they will be expected to engage in many social interactions, work in groups, and build relationships. Emotional intelligence can help people of all ages to be more attentive to positive emotions. This results in beneficial responses to stress. This creates resilience amongst children and an understanding of their feelings, as well as emotional management.
Teaching and modeling emotional intelligence as a parent or a caretaker is necessary to build constructive and trusting relationships with our children and our communities. It is our responsibility to support children throughout their developmental processes. This is true not only through their academic learning but also through their social and emotional learning. Elements of emotional intelligence such as empathy, self-awareness, and mindfulness are necessary for parents and caretakers to recognize our own biases, limitations, and strengths. These can help contribute back to the communities we serve and simply prepare for the future.
Why is Emotional Intelligence Important?
What do your feelings mean? How do you handle them? How do we teach our children to do the same?
Emotional intelligence means being able to recognize one’s emotions and positively manage them. Emotionally intelligent people are able to work through conflict with empathy and compassion. As children continue to grow and develop, they will be expected to engage in many social interactions, work in groups, and build relationships. Emotional intelligence can help people of all ages to be more attentive to positive emotions. This results in beneficial responses to stress. This creates resilience amongst children and an understanding of their feelings, as well as emotional management.
Five Parts of Emotional Intelligence
Self-awareness is the ability to know one’s emotions, strengths/weaknesses, drives, as well as their effect on others. Self-regulation is the capacity to manage our emotional state and the ability to think before acting. Empathy is the ability to understand and appreciate the emotions, needs, and concerns of others and use them to guide our behavior. Social skills are proficiency in managing relationships, finding common ground, and building rapport. Motivation is a passion and persistence that guides and facilitates reaching goals. A few ways to build emotional intelligence amongst children include labeling your child’s emotions, teaching feeling words, showing empathy, and modeling appropriate ways to express feelings. These can be taught at home, in school, and through counseling.Begin Play Therapy in Katy, TX!
If you looking for help to build emotional intelligence in your child, one of the therapists at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch can help! We provide mental health counseling, as well as other mental health services. To begin counseling in Katy, TX follow these three steps:- Contact our office to set up an appointment or to learn more information
- Meet with one of our knowledgeable therapists
- Find ways to thrive through therapy today!