After working with thousands of parents and their children of all ages over the past 20 years, I have discovered that they benefit greatly from learning the “how to’s” of Emotional Intelligence. As each developmental milestone is reached in a child’s life, these techniques can smooth the transitions, resulting in happier families.  Research shows that if new parents start off using techniques designed to develop their child’s innate emotional skills, many future psychological and behavioral problems can be prevented. As with teaching a child to read, there will be steady progress and many rewards along the way. There is a large body of research on this topic, including the following.

Emotional intelligence can be broken down into five domains:

• a) knowing one's emotions,
• b) managing emotions,
• c) motivating oneself,
• d) recognizing emotions in others, and
• e) handling relationships. *

  * Melanie Richburg and Teresa Fletcher Emotional Intelligence: Directing a Child’s Emotional Education 

Research shows us that each baby is born with a specific and unique potential for all the components of Emotional Intelligence. What the research also tells us is that many parents are not aware that their kids’ inborn potential can be greatly enhanced or undermined by parenting style. And even if they know that improvement is possible, most parents are not taught the best ways teach these emotional intelligence -Time-In skills. 

Parents’ intention is to raise great kids, and research shows that emotionally healthy children: 

• Are better learners
• Have fewer behavior problems
• Feel better about themselves
• Are better able to resist peer pressure
• Are less violent and more empathetic
• Are better at resolving conflicts
• Are less likely to engage in self-destructive behavior (drugs, alcohol, teenage pregnancy)
• Have more friends
• Have better impulse control, and are better able to delay gratification
• Are happier, healthier and more "successful" 

You can read more about the findings of Daniel Goleman and others here: http://eqi.org/eidefs.htm

Next: Teaching Emotional Intelligence to babies