Play it out.
When you notice a
negative pattern developing,
recognize that the child has some
big feelings he doesn’t know how to
handle, and step in with the best medicine,
which is playing / drawing (techniques for
expression). Helping the child “play” out his
big inner conflicts lets them resolve them so
he can move on to the next age appropriate
developmental challenge. The child often
cannot put their deeper emotional conflicts
into words - that’s tough even for most
adults - but they can play them out
symbolically and resolve them without
even needing to talk about them.
Laughter is also a way of
relieving stress.
Model emotional intelligence. The
most important strategy you can do to
encourage emotional intelligence in the
child is to regulate your own emotions.
Most of us keep it together fairly well
until we’re upset with our child and/or
start disciplining. Realising the impact
your behaviour has on a child is the
first step in becoming a better model of
good behaviour.
We know good behaviour is caught, better more than taught. But to stay on course it
is crucial to build a strong support system of other adults that also model emotional
intelligence through their behaviour and who you trust to help you stay objective
about your own behaviour. This is where you will have to be prepared to be a role
model to your child on how one handles criticism constructively and values the
opportunity for the positive change it brings.
September/November 2015•