Have you ever thought about the concept of emotional intelligence especially in young children?
Well, there is a separate field called the psychology of children or child psychology dedicated to entirely understanding child development and social-emotional learning in children. Studies show that the major development of the brain happens in the first 5 years of age. So in that period, if you focus on the development of emotional and social skills in your children, it would help them a lot in the long run.
During early childhood education, if the emotional skills of children are enhanced, it helps them in many ways.
- They are better able to understand emotions.
- They pay attention to their emotional well-being while growing up.
So let’s understand the concept of emotional intelligence and how your kid can learn emotion regulation at a daycare center.
WHAT IS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE?
Emotional intelligence means the ability to understand your emotions as well as of others. People with high emotional intelligence tend to easily understand their behaviors based on the emotions they feel. Moreover, they are aware of how they perceive emotions. It helps them understand and manage their behaviors.
There are five key elements of emotional intelligence:
- Self-awareness.
- Self-regulation.
- Motivation.
- Empathy.
- Social skills.
If you adopt certain childcare practices that promote emotional regulation, it makes it easy for kids to adapt to their environment.
HOW CAN YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE?
There is a very famous book of psychology, “Emotional Intelligence, why it can matter more than IQ” by Daniel Goleman.
In this book, he emphasizes the importance of our emotional intelligence and how it plays a major role in our daily lives.
You can easily know about the level of your emotional intelligence by the “Emotional Intelligence test”. This test is based on Goleman’s four-quadrant Emotional Intelligence Competency Model (2002).
It consists of short questions that you have to answer. Based on their results and emotional quotient (eq), the level of your emotional intelligence is determined.
Many psychological websites are offering free emotional intelligence tests. You can get an idea of the test from these websites.
However, for accurate and expert advice you should visit a psychologist to carry out your test in person and give you a detailed explanation of it.
HOW DO DAYCARE CENTERS CONTRIBUTE TO THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN?
Children spend most of their time either in schools or in daycare centers. So these institutions play a major role in the development of these skills in children. Let’s have a look at how daycare centers promote emotional intelligence in kids.
- SOCIAL INTERACTION:
Daycare centers provide plenty of opportunities for kids to socialize. As they have children from diverse groups and cultures, children develop social skills. Such as communicating with each other, sharing, playing together, helping, etc. social awareness helps a lot in emotional regulation as they learn how to express their emotions as well as how to take care of their peers’ emotions. They also learn to express and identify emotions using non-verbal cues such as facial expressions.
- CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS:
As the kids stay with each other, they may come across conflicts. So in that case, with the help of teachers and caregivers, they learn how to resolve the conflict. How to make compromises, and understanding each other’s feelings.
- BUILDING EMPATHY:
Children learn a lot by observing others. They don’t have the sense of good or bad, they observe what others do and apply that to their life. So in daycare centers, if the child observes the staff and teachers to empathise with others, and take care of everyone equally with love and affection, they copy the same behavior. So emotional intelligence has a role in empathy building as well.
- EMOTION LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
Many daycare centers have adopted the strategy of play-based learning in the childcare curriculum. It helps kids to learn more effectively and retain the knowledge for a long time as compared to traditional teaching methods. Such as the use of music, identification of objects or shapes using sensory information, and many more.
- ENCOURAGING EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE:
At a daycare center, kids learn, play, and grow with each other. They face failures and achievements. If they face any failure, we teach them to take this as an opportunity to do better the next time. If they get any accomplishment, we teach them to celebrate it with their fellow kids.
Hence, emotional resilience highly affects emotional intelligence. With the use of positive reinforcement, we encourage children to improve their behaviors. That is how children learn the ability to manage their emotions and understand them.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
If your kid is attending a daycare center, it’s a very exciting opportunity for them to learn emotional intelligence. As the world is progressing faster, it is important to keep up with it. So starting from an early age, if you adopt parenting tips that enhance your child’s cognitive skills such as emotion regulation, learning, language development, relationship management, etc, they will be better future leaders.
At High Achievers Learning Center, we care about your kid both mentally and physically. With the use of innovative techniques such as stress management for children, we stay updated on the advancements in learning and behavior modifications in children.
If you are looking for a daycare center in La Porte, Texas feel free to visit us.
Schedule your first visit to explore our daycare center where the bright future of your little ones is ensured.
