Emotional Quotient

How much of time is spent by educators teaching parents to be accepting of children’s mistakes at home?

As I mulled over this statement what struck me most about a thought on how safe are our homes. I am sure you might be startled by this statement and here I would like to draw attention to the emotional safety, providing an environment where children at home are not constantly pressured with being perfect, constantly being desired to meeting expectations set by parents some that are verbalized and some that are hidden but reflected in their body language that is not said in many words but is felt.

Children are so precious and in the early years especially are so fragile. Parents need to be extra sensitive as in these very early yeas the child’s self-esteem is developing and constantly crushing it with criticism or making the child feel inadequate leaves a lifelong mark on the child’s confidence levels which either could lead to introversion or loud behavior that could be aggressive or on the lines of being attention seeking which leads to many a times for parents hearing how disruptive their child is socially or in school.

I urge our educators; teachers shifting their focus apart from building the IQ of the children to the very important areas of building the EQ i.e. the emotional quotient of the child. They need to take on the responsibility of facilitating opportunities during PTM or through parent orientations and workshops that could help in equipping them with much needed skills of being able to provide emotionally safe and secure environment at homes that is accepting and more tolerant in giving that gentle nudge as and when needed filled with encouragement, love and patience for children who will learn for life from their mistakes without losing the appetite of risk taking. Risk taking is the foundation of building towards excellence, innovation and creativity.

(Written for Education Today magazine in 2017)