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Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Early Childhood Education 

Early childhood education presents many opportunities to support the emotions of children and many of these opportunities can be transformed into learning situations for them. In order to develop our kids into successful individuals, it is important for them to have certain social-emotional skills. Inclusion of emotional intelligence in early childhood education is important to ensure that our children are capable of dealing with difficulties, respecting differences, and are emotionally healthy. Luckily, it is possible to build and strengthen emotional intelligence at all ages by providing appropriate training. Therefore, educators can focus on programs, methods and strategies to support their students’ emotional intelligence in the early years.  

What is Emotional Intelligence?  

A critical component of development for children as well as adults, emotional intelligence may be referred to as the ability of individuals to recognize their own as well as other persons’ emotions. The achievement of a person in life and work doesn’t depend solely on his or her intellectual capacity. An equally important role is played by the individual’s emotional intelligence.

When kids are taught about factors making up someone’s emotional intelligence, they start understanding their feelings and gain a better understanding of the reasons behind these feelings. This, in turn, helps them build healthy relationships with others and deal with their emotions effectively.  

Benefits of Teaching Emotional Intelligence to Kids:  

Emotional intelligence can certainly be one of the important stepping stones for a child’s development into a successful adult. Here are some of its most important benefits.  

• Emotionally intelligent individuals generally have a higher self-awareness compared to others. Self-aware persons have a better understanding of how others are affected by their actions. A child with greater self-awareness is more likely to develop positive relationships with others.  
• Most individuals are not born with the ability to regulate their emotions naturally. By developing emotional intelligence, children may be able to regulate their emotions over a period of time. This skill is critical to our ability to meet the demands of a difficult situation by managing our emotions. By regulating emotions, it is possible to remain calm and composed in tough situations. Please remember that emotion regulation is not about avoiding situations that might be challenging for a child. It is actually about guiding him or her to exhibit appropriate behaviour even under stressful circumstances.  
• Teaching emotional intelligence also helps children develop empathy, which may be defined as the ability to put oneself in someone else’s shoes to better understand his or her feelings. Empathy can be a huge part of a child’s emotional and social development. Children capable of empathising with others can cultivate positive relationships and have a higher chance of succeeding in the future. 
• A child’s holistic growth and development depends significantly on his or her ability to acquire positive social skills. It has been observed that emotional intelligence training can impart a number of positive social skills in them, including making friends, displaying good manners, effective expression and communication, being sensitive to the feelings of others, etc.  

Teaching emotional intelligence skills in early childhood makes children well equipped to overcome challenges in the future. For more early childhood education related guidance, please contact us at Valley Heights Preschool Long Day Care Centre.