Emotional intelligence usually involves four abilities: a person’s self-awareness, their ability to self-manage, their social awareness, and their ability to manage relationships effectively. An emotionally intelligent child can perceive how their actions might make someone feel, they can show sympathy towards those feelings, grasp social cues, listen actively, and understand or accept the perspectives of other people.
Does your child cry often and/or have difficulty moving past their emotions? Do they frequently get overwhelmed? Do they often struggle with trying not to cry when criticized or scolded? If the answer is yes for most or all of these, your child may be emotionally sensitive.
No teen is immune to mental health struggles or other issues that can act as driving factors towards a suicide attempt. As a parent, even if you believe that you know everything about your child and what they go through daily, it isn’t usually obvious that they’re in pain or desperately in need of support.
What is your inner voice like? Does it judge you even when others don’t? Does it criticize everything you do? Does it tell you you’re not good enough? Does it try to convince you that other people secretly don’t like you? Though it seems like it isn’t a big deal, some of the most powerful words are the words we say to ourselves.
Sometimes, out of impatience, frustration or anger, especially with children and teens, parents/guardians can let their emotions influence the language they use. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me”…right?
Is your friendship with someone starting to feel more and more like a burden? Does it cause you stress, anxiety, or senseless guilt?
You might be experiencing a toxic friendship!
When we imagine chid predators, most of us probably think of creepy old men and strangers that stare at children in a playground. However, this type of danger is not always so obvious.
Some signs of self-harming may be obvious, but some may be quite subtle. In some cases, you may not even know what your child is going through emotionally without communication. Here are some warnings to look out for.