Raising Emotionally Intelligent Children

I liked these points -- I agree that helping name feelings is a great way for parents to build dialogue about this important area. Often it's hard when parents don't have a lot of words for feelings themselves - or when they are too in a hurry. It's not necessary to use "technical" words for feelings, e.g., instead of "jealous" it's also great to say, "does it feel like when someone takes your toy?":

• One thing parents need to remember is that they are “emotion coaches” for their children. Emotion coaches help their children name and discuss the feelings they may have.
• Parents should not try to solve the problem, but instead try to relate to the child’s experience and respect the child’s ideas.

I did not like this - it bothers me when people write "research says" and don't have the research!
Research indicates that parents can use a variety of ways to become better emotion coaches. One approach is that parents should pretend what it would be like to be in the child’s situation and try to imagine what the child might be feeling.

Raising emotionally intelligent children

Susan Routh
OSU Extension Office
Raising a child is said to be one of the most challenging jobs in the world. Learning how to read a child’s emotions can be just as challenging.

Adults may often find themselves having difficulty identifying their own emotions, let alone knowing how to read their child’s emotions.


http://www.tuttletimes.com/columns/local_story_278191902.html