Four Tips to Help Raise an Emotionally Intelligent Child
The topic of emotions is difficult and even harder for your little one. Your child may understand when they are happy, sad, or mad, but talking about their feelings is another mountain to climb. Creating a safe environment for them to express themselves is the first step to approaching the topic of mental health. To further help them, here are a couple of tips and tricks to help raise an emotional intelligent child.
1. Reading about emotions
• Books are one of the easiest ways to approach mental health. When reading a story ask your little one how they think that character feels and what do the characters facial expressions mean? This is a gateway into speaking about their own emotions. Ask them, have you ever felt that way? Your child may feel more comfortable talking about how they feel if they can relate to someone or something.
2. Showing unconditional love
• As I previously mentioned, creating a safe environment is step one in broaching the topic of mental health. But validating their feelings, is super important as well. There are different ways to show unconditional love to your child but allowing them to show emotion and understand them is the best way. Allow them to feel their feelings and show them that they shouldn’t be embarrassed to feel a certain way. Show your support by being there for them, hugging, and creating a safe space.
Image of Milo hugging Niko from the book Milo + Niko
3. Approach everything with curiosity
• Always ask questions. Parenting is wondering if we’re doing and saying the right thing. We assume a lot, but instead we should approach everything with curiosity. This applies to mental health and your child, such as asking them if certain situations make them feel uncomfortable or what emotions they feel when they’re doing something specific. If you approach mental health with curiosity, so will your child.
4. Educating ourselves
• Doing our own research is essential when it comes to mental health and emotional intelligence. There are many things that effect the way we approach this topic such as cultural disparities. As a parent, we need to acknowledge our own behavior and how we express our emotions in front of our children. We must realize that our children can mirror our own actions. By educating ourselves we can learn more about mental health techniques, coping skills, and how to be mindful of others’ emotions.
There are endless resources for approaching the topic of mental health. Each child needs unique techniques depending on their mental health journey. Be mindful of your little ones needs and emotions.
Our books on emotional intelligence, My Mind is a Mountain, The No Boy, and La Catrina: Emotions can be helpful tools when talking about mental health.
Here are other resources to help:
A little boy goes on a journey to discover a full range of emotions, from feelings of great enthusiasm and happiness to those of sorrow and anger. My mind is a mountain is a metaphor for the heights a mind can reach in powerfully handling all emotions from the lowest of the lows to the highest of the highest - and everything in between.
No! No! NO! There are big emotions inside all of us - and saying "no" holds the most emotions of all. The self-proclaimed No Boy is emotionally fickle, and his mom is nothing but understanding. His actions will teach him that it is more than ok to say no and that sometimes saying no has all the answers.
Let’s celebrate and honor the dearly departed. Inspired by one of the most recognized symbols of Dia De Muertos or “Day of the Dead”, this book introduces little ones to emotional expressions and their first English and Spanish words—and teaches them to recognize emotions like surprise, happiness, triste, and confidence.
