5 Tips For Helping Children Develop Emotional Intelligence

As parents, caregivers, and educators, one of our most important responsibilities is to help children develop emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and manage one’s own emotions and the emotions of others, and it is a critical skill that helps children navigate the ups and downs of life.

Five tips for helping children develop emotional intelligence

  1. Model Emotional Intelligence: Children learn a great deal from the adults around them. As parents or caregivers, it is important to model emotional intelligence by showing children how to identify and manage their emotions. Talk about your own emotions with your child, and encourage them to do the same. When you are feeling angry, sad, or frustrated, explain why you are feeling that way and how you are managing those emotions. By doing so, you are showing your child that it is okay to have emotions and that it is possible to manage them in healthy ways.
  2. Help Children Identify Their Emotions: Children often have a difficult time identifying their emotions. They may know that they feel upset, but they may not be able to articulate why. To help children develop emotional intelligence, it is important to help them identify their emotions. Use emotion words (such as “happy,” “sad,” “angry,” “frustrated,” etc.) when talking to your child about their feelings. You can also use books or TV shows to help your child learn about different emotions.
  3. Teach Children Coping Strategies: Coping strategies are the tools that we use to manage our emotions. As adults, we have developed coping strategies over time, but children may not have the same tools. Teach your child coping strategies, such as taking deep breaths, counting to ten, or taking a break when they feel overwhelmed. Encourage your child to practice these coping strategies when they are feeling strong emotions.
  4. Encourage Empathy: Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Encourage your child to practice empathy by talking about other people’s emotions. For example, if you see someone who looks sad, you can say to your child, “That person looks sad. How do you think they are feeling?” By practicing empathy, your child will develop a better understanding of other people’s emotions and will be more likely to show compassion.
  5. Practice Problem-Solving: Problem-solving is an important skill for emotional intelligence. When your child encounters a problem, encourage them to brainstorm solutions. You can help your child by asking open-ended questions, such as “What do you think you could do?” or “How do you think you could solve this problem?” By practicing problem-solving, your child will develop the skills they need to manage their emotions in difficult situations.

Emotional intelligence is a critical skill that helps children navigate the ups and downs of life. As parents, caregivers, and educators, we can help children develop emotional intelligence by modeling emotional intelligence, helping them identify their emotions, teaching coping strategies, encouraging empathy, and practicing problem-solving. By doing so, we are helping children develop the skills they need to manage their emotions in healthy and productive ways. My Best Me give you the tools to be able to teach these skills in an easy, fun and effective way.

What is My Best Me

What Are the Five Main Concepts of My Best Me

In today’s fast-paced world, we often forget to focus on our own personal growth, emotional intelligence and development. The My Best Me curriculum is designed to address this issue by providing a framework for students to explore and develop their sense of identity, health, community, environment, and economics (IE their emotional intelligence). Let us take a closer look at the five components of this powerful curriculum and how they can help students become their best selves.

1. Identity:

The first component of the My Best Me curriculum is identity. This component is designed to help students understand and develop a positive sense of self. Through this component, students will explore their own personal values, strengths, and weaknesses, and learn how to build their self-confidence and self-esteem.

2. Health:

The second component of the curriculum is health. This component is designed to help students develop a healthy lifestyle that promotes physical and mental well-being. Through this component, students will learn about the importance of exercise, nutrition, stress management, and sleep.

3. Community:

The third component of the curriculum is community. This component is designed to help students develop a sense of belonging and social responsibility. Through this component, students will learn about the importance of community service, volunteerism, and social activism.

4. Environment:

The fourth component of the curriculum is environment. This component is designed to help students understand and appreciate the natural world. Through this component, students will learn about the importance of sustainability, environmental conservation, and eco-friendly practices.

5. Economics:

The fifth and final component of the curriculum is economics. This component is designed to help students understand the importance of financial literacy. Through this component, students will learn about budgeting, saving, and investing.

Overall, the My Best Me curriculum is a powerful tool for promoting personal growth and development in students. By exploring and developing their sense of identity, health, community, environment, and economics, students will be better equipped to face the challenges of the world and become their best selves. Whether in the classroom or at home, this curriculum is a valuable resource for anyone looking to cultivate personal growth and wellbeing.

SAMPLE OUR MY BEST ME CURRICULUM

Promote Growth Mindset in Students

A growth mindset is an ability to understand that your abilities can develop, you can learn new skills and challenges are an opportunity for growth rather than a roadblock. A growth mindset is paramount to the success of students not only academically but also emotionally. A child’s academic success is strongly correlated with a student’s ability to embrace a growth mindset.

Growth Mindset:Fixed Mindset:
You can develop new skillsSkills are innate
Changes drive growthAvoid challenges
Work toward progress not outcomeThreatened by others success
Failures are a learning opportunityGive up easily

The key to a growth mindset?

  1. Hard work and perseverance are key! As educators, it is important to praise the process rather than the product. Highlight strengths throughout the process and celebrate little tasks. 

Example of what you can say:

 “ I have seen you work so hard, do you see how much you have improved?”

  1. Mistakes are part of learning! It is important that students know that mistakes are part of learning and an opportunity to ask questions, practice, and improve in those skills. Mistakes help your brain grow. 

Example of how you can make mistakes positive:

– You can highlight your own failures. 

– Discuss the acronym for FAIL (First Attempt In Learning)

My Best Me curriculum or a structured curriculum that will promote making mistakes and working through them through engaging activities, inspiring stories and discussions.

  1. Not Yet!! As children go through their academic careers, they will often need to be reminded of their abilities. It is important to promote the power of “Not Yet”. It is important for students to know that some things take time instead of saying I can’t say I don’t know how to do that yet.   

I can’t ……………………………YET

I don’t understand………………YET

I’m not good at that ……………YET

It doesn’t work………………….YET

My Best Me
promotes a growth mindset in children all the way up to 12th grade.

 

The Research Behind Hope

Hope isn’t just a good feeling it also has a positive impact on your health and well being

What is Hope?
Hope is an optimistic state of mind and the belief or expectation of positive outcomes. 
Research suggests that people with high hope:

  • Exhibit optimism 
  • Have a perception of control over their own life
  • Have problem solving ability 
  • A drive to do and be better
  • High self esteem 

HOPE BUFFERS ADVERSITY:

Research has shown that hope is a psychological strength. It is linked to resilience and overall psychological well-being. (the research)

Adversely a low level of hope is highly linked to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Read more about what ACEs are and their effects on a child’s health and well-being (LINK TO BLOG)

Benefits of HOPE: (link to the research)

“My Best Me” Curriculum and HOPE

“My Best Me” curriculum promotes social-emotional skills and teaches hope. YES! Hope can be learned. Not only does our curriculum teach hope and social-emotional skills we also give you access to our Hope survey which helps you measure not only the success of the curriculum but it also helps establish a baseline and see where students are struggling. 

Child sitting at the bottom of a slide.

The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences

“My Best Me” curriculum’s primary goal is to help reduce the negative impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences and promote a positive and healthy connection between families and the community. 

What is an Adverse Childhood Experience?

Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACE are potentially traumatic events that occur in a child’s life.(0-17 years of age) This may be in the form of violence, neglect, experiencing the death of a loved one, or abuse. ACE can also be categorized as experiences of elements within their life that may jeopardize their sense of safety, binding, or stability. Examples can range from parental separation to substance abuse. 

What impact can Adverse Childhood Experiences have on a child?

ACE’s are linked to mental illness, chronic health issues, and substance abuse in adults and teenagers. In addition ACE’s have shown to have an impact on a child’s academic journey and in latter years job opportunities and earning potentials.

How to prevent the impacts of ACEs?

It is important to nurture relationships and environments for all children and families to help prevent ACEs and help children reach their highest potential. According to the CDC, teaching skills that have been identified as Social Emotional Learning is a strategy to prevent the negative effects of ACEs.

Did you know that 

In the United States, 64% of adults have an ACE score of 1. This means they have experienced at least one ACE in their lifetime. This subsequently increases the chances that that individual will experience a second ACE. 

How the “My Best Me” curriculum can help