Spectrum Health & Human Services

As a parent, our children’s tears, scraped knees, and hurt feelings break our hearts. The desire to protect our children from pain is our rite of passage but is a lost opportunity teaching our kids emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence or EQ – helping children manage their emotions - will promote your child’s success in school, work, and relationships Here are ways to develop EQ in kids: Let them cry. How often have you said “You are okay,” when a child falls? Try asking “What hurts, your knee or your feelings?” Help kids decipher feelings like shock or embarrassment while acknowledging that it is scary to fall. Make connections. Understanding how emotions influence our behavior is essential to EQ. Ask “When you broke that toy, what where you feeling? How do you feel about that now that you are more calm?” Help kids self-evaluate how they chose to react. Make suggestions about healthy methods to manage negative emotions. Model and create opportunities for empathy. Empathy is important and promotes self-care. Model empathy in your own relationships and talk about the emotions you recognize. Create opportunities for empathy through pretend play. Helping kids manage negative emotions and not dismiss them as scary will develop improved awareness and empathy. Spectrum Health C.A.R.E.S. is a family’s lifeline to mental health intervention when dealing with children and youth to age 17. Call 716-882 HELP (4357) when a young person is in crisis: trained counselors are available 24/7 to help. Learn more at Spectrum S Health www.shswny.org.