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The power and skill of controlling ones emotions is very vital and should be possessed by every individual. And the earliest parents can introduce their kids to this skill; the better it would be for their future.

Emotional intelligence helps kids at every walk of their life. It gives them the power to control their emotions and express them in an effective manner. An emotionally strong child learns to manage his anxieties, fear, happiness and all other feelings. For instance, if your child is afraid of public speaking but is emotionally strong, he will make efforts to overcome his fear. Similarly, if any of his friends has this fear, your emotionally strong child will understand his feelings and would make genuine efforts to help him out.

A child, who is emotionally balanced, tends to be a good decision maker and looks at life with a wider perspective. On the other hand, if your child lacks emotional intelligence, he will never really be able to take control of his life and the decisions he takes.

As kids grow up, they come across various emotions and get to understand life in a deeper way. If at this time, their emotional stability goes for a toss, they will never be able to deal with the complexities and challenges life throws at them.

How you can help your kids master the art of emotional intelligence?

1. Spend quality time with your kids
This is very important. Don’t just spend time with kids only because you have to. Make it constructive and valuable. When we say quality time, you need to give your complete attention to your child. You have to be fully involved with him and if you fail to do so, spending a lot of time will also be of no use. Whatever time you spend with them, just see to it that they have your undivided attention.

2. Listen to them
For a change, try to listen to your kids. Don’t just always give him advises or instructions. It’s always good when you spend some time just listening to what your child has to tell you. This apparently makes your child feel valued and it gives him or her assurance that you are always willing to listen to what they have to say. This helps them in confiding in you, which is really very important as it lets you know what your child’s thoughts are.

3. Encourage them to share their feelings
Unless you know what your child feels about himself, his friends, or anything in general, you will never get to know how efficient he is in controlling his emotions. To know his emotional state, you will have to encourage him to share his feelings with you. And this could be done in an interactive way. You will also have to open up about your feelings before him which will give him the confidence to share his thoughts with you.

4. Never judge their feelings or thoughts
When your child shares his feelings or thoughts with you, never give any negative remark or stand judgmental about it. Understand and accept the fact that he is a different human being and his thoughts can’t necessarily be the same as yours. Sometimes you may even find their thoughts to be silly. No matter what, respect his feelings and if you feel that his thoughts carry more of negativity, try explaining the things to him in a calm and affectionate way.

5. Teach mood management
A bad mood always causes us to behave in an unpleasant way. We often resort to yelling or shouting at people who are close to us and thus hurt their feelings. Like adults, even kids have their share of bad days when their mood just blows off. Well, it’s completely natural but how you deal with the same matters a lot. Teach your kids some positive ways of managing a mood swing. Tell him how he can divert his attention into something creative when he feels angry or upset with or over something.

6. Develop self-motivation
It happens to be the internal urge to chase ones goals and make efforts to achieve them. Your kids will be able to control his emotions if he stands self-motivated. And for the same, you will have to make him do things which hold his interest. He will need your constant encouragement and guidance. Set goals for him which you feel are attainable and never overburden him with expectations. When your kids achieve their set goals, they feel motivated from within and they take delight in making constant efforts to reach out to their goals.

7. Encourage optimism
An optimistic mind is the best way of controlling and managing the wide range of emotions one feels. Encourage your kids to look for opportunities and creative ways to tackle problems. For instance, if your child fails in any school activity, suppose a race, praise him for the efforts he took and encourage him to work harder the next time. Teach him not to feel bad and focus on the brighter side of things. An optimistic attitude works wonders when they get to face setbacks or disappointments.

8. Nurture empathy
When you nurture this quality in your kids, it gives them the vital base for developing and maintaining their relations in life. You can teach empathy to your kids by showing it the way your kids relate to it. Before you advise them anything, first try and put yourself in their shoes and understand their situation. Encourage your kids also to analyze things and people’s situation by placing themselves in other people’s shoes. When they learn to analyze perspectives, they will respond to things in a better way. Empathy towards others will always help them in maintaining healthy relations with everyone around and manage their emotions well.

If your child learns the art of managing emotions, he will grow up into an emotionally strong adult which will prove helpful to him in every walk of life!