As parents and carers, we often focus on helping children learn, achieve, and succeed. Alongside this, there is another set of skills that play a significant role in how children navigate the world: emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise, understand, express, and manage emotions, both in ourselves and in others. It includes skills such as noticing how we feel, understanding why those feelings might be happening, managing big emotions, showing empathy, and building positive relationships.
These are not skills children are born with fully developed. They grow over time through experience, support, and guidance from the adults around them.
Emotional intelligence underpins many aspects of a child’s development. It supports how they:
Children with developing emotional intelligence are more likely to be able to pause before reacting, consider how others might feel, and recover from setbacks. This can support wellbeing, reduce conflict, and help children feel more confident and understood.
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