David McCormack posted an article on how to develop emotional intelligence in children and the methods are ridiculously simple.
1. Listen (actively).
Children need a voice and they need to be truly heard and responded to. Make a time in your daily routine where the children can give opinions, have a voice, and where you model active listening. Model listening allows for children to understand that there is a time to respond to another’s voice that is when they have finished talking.
2. Plant Something.
Plant a seed and sit back and watch it grow. Children need to learn how to garden since it helps them appreciate the fundamentals for life and healthy growth. They need to water it each day, measure it, take a photo and connect to nature. Teach them to admire the wonders of nature and that our key to success is our environment and we must take time to respect, understand and protect it.
3. Express Gratitude.
What do we have that we are grateful for? Health, love, warmth, food, clean water, freedom, family. Constantly remind your children and yourselves that we indeed are very lucky to have what we do.
4. Try Something New.
Encourage your children to try something new like a new food, to walk a path less trodden, or sit with the lonely child in class. We want our children to be accepting of cultures, faiths, beliefs and change. From mistakes comes great learning and, you never know, they might just love it.
5. Read, Read, Read.
There will never be anything better than the feeling of a real book. The smell of paper, the feel of the pages, the handwritten notes in the back of the book, the shifting of weight from left to right as you progress, the knowledge that you can pass the book on to a friend after reading it or store it in your bookcase for a later date. Reading together, sharing a book, laughing together and having a book club are all things that nurture a love for life-long learning.
