Intelligence experts estimate that only 20 percent of a person’s success is attributed to IQ but that as much as the entire remaining 80 percent may be a direct result of what has become known as EQ, or emotional intelligence. Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer who are believed to have first coined the term “emotional intelligence,” define it as “a subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others, feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.” People who have a high EQ exhibit the following:

• Impulse control
• Problem solving skills
• Empathy
• The ability to self soothe
• Delay gratification
• Self motivation
• Read other people’s emotional cues
• Self esteem
• Adaptability
• Resilience
• The ability to identify, express and understand feelings

The Benefits of High EQ

According to Lawrence Shapiro, PhD, the author of How to Raise a Child with a High EQ, “having a high EQ may be more important to success in life than a high IQ as measured by a standardized test of verbal and nonverbal cognitive intelligence.” Children who have high EQs achieve better academically, have fewer temper tantrums, are better problem solvers, are less impulsive, have better attention spans, are more motivated, healthier and are more well liked. The great news about EQ, it that parents are the greatest influencers of high EQ. Children learn most of their emotional lessons from their parents and there is a lot parents can do to increase their children’s EQ.

5 Things Parents Can Do to Increase EQ

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