Stating that emotional intelligence is important for children to grow up as happy, empathetic and responsible individuals, experts recommend allowing children to express their feelings, giving them time, listening to them and encouraging them to engage in a branch of art.
Specialist Clinical Psychologist Nazende Ceren Öksüz from Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital said that emotional intelligence development is important for children to establish stronger social relationships and gain communication skills in the future.
MAKE TIME FOR THE CHILD
Stating that it is possible to develop children's emotional intelligence, Öksüz emphasized that parents should first give the child the opportunity to express their emotions. Nazende Ceren Öksüz gave the following advice:
"First of all, the child should be given the opportunity to express their emotions. In other words, the more we realize the diversity of emotions, the more the child becomes an individual who recognizes his/her emotions and can express them appropriately. In this sense, it is extremely beneficial for children to engage in art in order to express their emotions and inner world through these channels. Allocating special times for the child, sometimes free time, will also improve their emotional intelligence as it will allow the child to realize the positive aspects of their own psychology."
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE INCREASED BY 20
Nazende Ceren Öksüz stated that there are many studies showing that children's emotional intelligence increases with Positive Psychology practices around the world, and said that they conducted a similar study last year and received positive results.
Stating that in the pilot study they conducted last semester, they conducted positive psychology practices for 15 children during an academic year, Öksüz said:
"These positive psychology practices enabled children to express their emotions, develop emotion reading skills, be more sociable in social environments, be helpful, and develop a number of skills that nourish and positively affect interpersonal communication. We conducted a number of sessions that allowed them to develop many skills they should have, such as time management skills, stress management skills, anger management skills. And at the end of these sessions, there was a 20% increase in the emotional intelligence of the children. At the same time, there was a significant increase in their life satisfaction and problem solving skills."
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY PRACTICES EMPOWERED CHILDREN
Stating that they carried out the same measurements in the same periods without any application to another group with the same characteristics in the same age group and obtained different results, Öksüz said, "Problem solving and life satisfaction decreased over time in children who did not receive positive psychology applications. The reason for this was that these children were in the TEOG period. They were trying to cope with a problem like TEOG, a stress that could be a problem for them. And as a result of positive psychology practices, while some children came out of the difficult process stronger, unfortunately, we observed a decrease in problem solving and life satisfaction in children who did not undergo this practice."