In part one of the blog Raising Emotionally Intelligent Children, we defined emotional intelligence and explored its importance. Some children are naturally more emotionally intelligent than others. It is important to nurture emotional intelligence in children to help them adjust well to the challenges life brings.

Now that we know how important emotional intelligence is, how can parents foster it in their children?

Here are some practical ideas to help raise emotionally intelligent children:

• Help your children name their emotions and its context. Help your children identify what they are feeling and the environment the feeling occurred in. It is important to do this with both good and uncomfortable emotions. You talk through this with your children during dinner or breakfast. You can also have them write it down or draw it out.
• Make a game out of it. Take turns playing emotional charades by picking an emotion then acting it out. Once the person identifies the correct emotion, they have to name a time that they felt that emotion.
• Model talking about emotions and dealing with them. Children are like sponges and soak up everything around them. They will learn lessons about how to deal with emotions from watching you. Tell your children about your day, how you are feeling, and be open about how you handled it. When you’re upset, don’t hide it from your children. Show them how you are feeling, and show them healthy ways to calm yourself down.
  Identify emotions and moods you encounter around you then talk about it.
• Visit the Children’s Museum of Atlanta. The Children’s Museum is hosting a visiting exhibit that helps kids learn and talk about emotions in a playful way. Beat the summer heat, and enjoy a visit before school gets too hectic. More information and directions can be found in the link below.

Laura Lebovitz
LLebovitz @ GROWcounseling.com