To help build your child's emotional intelligence (E.Q.) name your own feelings throughout the day. Instead of saying, "I can't believe it! I drove all this way and they don't even have the special yogurt today!" say something like, "I'm so frustrated! I drove all this way and...." Similarly, instead of saying, "I don't know what to do...there are so many things to consider..." try saying, "I feel so confused..I don't know what to do..there are so many things to consider." Instead of saying, "We won!" try saying, "I'm so excited! We won!" The seemingly tiny difference in each pair of sentences - the little added feeling words at the beginning - add up to make a huge difference in a child's understanding of her own inner world and the inner world of other people. In fact, these feeling words introduce the concept that there IS an inner world and understanding this is the foundation of all emotional intelligence.
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