Here's How You Can Help Your Kid Develop His Emotional Intelligence

Aside from a kid's mental intellect, it is equally important that they develop emotional intelligence early on. Their young age makes it hard for them to fully comprehend the emotions that they go through as they get older. So now is always the perfect time to develop your kid's emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is an important skill for success in both personal and professional life. It is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. There are a number of online tests available that can help you assess your own emotional intelligence. Taking an emotional intelligence test can be a helpful way to learn more about your strengths and weaknesses in this area, and to identify areas where you may want to improve. 

While you could coach your kid every day on how to better understand his emotions, it can be a difficult challenge if you're also busy. But for parents who want their kids to be emotionally intelligent and understand their emotions better, help is on the way. According to She Knows, "In My Heart: A Book of Feelings" is one great book that will teach kids on how to deal with their emotions.

This book is not meant for parents but for kids. This was written by Jo Witek and was colorfully illustrated by Christine Roussey. The book was crafted to catch the attention of children, prodding them to read so that they can learn how to understand their emotions better and develop their emotional intelligence.

The author went out of her way to make the book an easy read for kids. Simple and clearly understandable discussions of emotions can be found on each page. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, the author made it a point to include a picture to visually illustrate each emotion.

One text example taken from the book that will help a kid understand his emotion better is this: "Eek! When I see something scary, my heart beats fast. I feel cold, as if a chilly breeze has crawled up my neck, and I run away as fast as I can. This is when my heart is afraid."

Being able to help kids understand their emotions can bring them a lot of benefits. An article published in Psychology Today stated that kids who have high emotional intelligence, and who were able to develop a strong emotional foundation, are more likely not to indulge in comfort eating later on in life.

When kids start developing their emotional intelligence early in life, they tend to grow up as more stable individuals who can easily handle pressure, understanding their own feelings even if they go through various "emotional" states. Thus, when they're older, they will be able to hack it in the real world without any problem.