Emotional intelligence How to develop it in children?

For children to learn to channel their emotions, they must learn to assume and identify their feelings clearly, developing psychological skills focused on self-awareness, self-control, self-motivation, social skills and empathy, as the Californian psychologist Daniel Goleman focused on in "Emotional intelligence" (1995). It is vital to develop emotional intelligence from a very young age, as a fundamental principle for their future and their learning.

How to develop emotional intelligence in children?

-Academic success and correct decision-making can be formed through daily training carried out with stimuli that promote the well-being of the child, thus establishing emotions as part of her personality.

-The recognition of emotions starts from the age of two, that is why it is important to support the child when he is sad or happy, so that he learns to identify her state of mind and make him notice what feeling he is presenting . In this way we can offer you control guidelines for any situation and emotional reaction.

-The assertive expression of emotions can be understood as the child is taught to control the reaction and to channel the emotions that he experiences. Teaching him to express himself verbally, with pauses and times, so that he can calm down in moments of euphoria, will be a mechanism that he will learn repeatedly, intelligently controlling those things that can cause him discomfort.

-Knowing how to listen to what other people say should be a constant stimulus at home. This will be the basis of everything, it will focus your attention and increase your concentration, strengthening the dialogue between children of the same age, understanding that your opinion is important in the conversation.

-To avoid introversion, it is necessary to ask them about what is being shared at that moment. It will remove the restrictions that limit you, increasing your own criteria and developing the facility to express yourself freely.

-In times of stress, a walk or some physical activity will be an effective way to release repressed emotions and relieve tension.

Benefits of emotional intelligence
-It will promote good self-esteem and inner strength to face conflicts or external problems that arise in life through self-control and the management of emotions.

-Increases self-knowledge: The child learns to know his strengths by accepting his limitations, which allows them to create a good image of themselves, strengthening their self-esteem.

-Manage emotions: he manages to identify, distinguish and manage her emotions.

-Learn to make responsible decisions: As they grow and gain autonomy, they will learn to make responsible and ethical decisions.

-Achieve good social ties: They interact appropriately with other children and adults, learning to defend their point of view without hurting or offending anyone, achieving assertive communication to establish good relationships.

-Teamwork: They achieve the proper interaction of teamwork with the goal that all children win.

-Development of empathy: Learn to put yourself in the place of the other.

-Conflict resolution: Ability to resolve conflicts efficiently assertively

In conclusion, emotional intelligence, as pointed out by Howard Gardner in his book "Multiple intelligences: theory in practice" (1993), is still one of the multiple and varied intelligences that the baby potentially possesses and that will eventually develop throughout your evolution as a person. Namely, the intelligences, according to the American psychologist, are: the emotional (intrapersonal), the musical, the visual-spatial, the corporal-kinesthetic, the interpersonal, the naturalistic, the logical-mathematical and the linguistic-verbal.