As parents, we want only the best for children; we want them to spend their early years in an environment that nurtures them into healthy, responsible adults in the future.

For a future as bright as that, children need to be raised with a lot more than just high IQ. They need to be emotionally intelligent as well.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to control, express and understand emotions in a healthy way. It is a major part of a mentally healthy individual – and is extremely important for children to get accustomed to as early as possible. Only once they learn how to handle their own emotions, will they be able to navigate through a world as tumultuous as ours.

However, it is worth noting that emotions are a spectrum of extremes, and children hardly ever understand them at first. That’s why it is important for parents to be emotionally intelligent, so that they can raise emotionally intelligent children.

So how do parents become emotionally intelligent? There are two phases to the process: to control your own emotions, and then to be aware of your child’s emotions.

Control Your Own Emotions

As a parent, having short outbursts, or temper tantrums becomes second-nature; sometimes, running the entire house and taking care of your children can be a bit much.

However, too often parents forget to realise what a persistently aggressive tone of theirs can do to their children; it harms their self-esteem, and makes them feel bad about themselves without knowing why. Soon, this emotional confusion leads them to become more emotionally isolated from the rest of the world.

This spells disaster for your child’s mental health, so be ready to control these impulses. Start by noticing why they happen in the first place – what is it that causes your frustration, anger or disappointment to tip over? Then, work on correcting them; physical acts like meditation or yoga prove to work wonders.

Keeping your own emotions in check help keep a calm, collected mind constantly. This helps you become better a better problem-solver at home.

Understand Your Child’s Emotions

The key to being emotionally intelligent is not just to understand your own emotions, but to understand others as well. As a parent, it becomes a duty to understand your child’s emotions in every step of the way. As little children out in a big world, they simply do not know what emotions are, what they are capable of, and how to control them; therefore, it is imperative that you guide them through the storm.

If your child is emotionally distraught, don’t jump to conclusions; instead, acknowledge their feelings, and let them know that what they’re feeling is valid. Never be dismissive – it’s easy to throw everything under the rug with a simple “You’re fine” or “There’s nothing to be sad about.” Before you can solve their problem, you need to let them know that their emotions are justified.

Ask them what they’re feeling if they’re old enough to talk – the more vocal your child is about their emotions, the better. If they’re hesitant to open up right away, then don’t pry the truth out of them. Instead, dance around it; ask what they were doing that led to that moment, or some overwhelming experience that was on their mind for some time.

Helping your child navigate through their own emotions helps you be more emotionally aware of them – inevitably giving you bonus parent points!


Nurseries in JLT are well aware of how important emotional intelligence is. In fact, Oakfield Early Learning Centre gives the opportunity to parents to be emotionally aware of themselves and their children by empowering them every step of the way. Practitioners conduct regular meetings with parents and document their child’s progress, both academically and emotionally. This helps keep parents aware of their child’s emotional development beyond the house.

Emotions breathe colour into life. Something as beautiful as that must not be dismissed or ignored; it must be nurtured in a child, so that they get to experience a colourful future.