Raising Emotionally Intelligent Children through Social Awareness
Social awareness is the third domain out of the four domains of emotional intelligence. Social awareness in the context of emotional intelligence is recognizing and reacting to the emotions around you. This includes both in individual and group settings.
Social Awareness with Individuals
When it comes to social awareness with individuals, learning to show empathy is the critical competency. Empathy requires you to imagine yourself in someone else’s shoes and try to understand why they are feeling the way they feel. In order to do this, you must show interest in and concern for others. Furthermore, you must have an open mind to other people’s world views and perspectives without being judgmental.
Social Awareness within Groups
When it comes to social awareness within groups, it’s more about recognizing and reacting to the group dynamics and social structure of the group. Often in groups there are unwritten rules and norms that define the group dynamics. What’s more, many groups don’t have formal leaders or processes to define the rules and norms.
Therefore, in order to be successful within groups you must be able to read the proverbial tea leaves. This includes the ability to interpret body language, tone, and facial expressions. In addition, you must be able to recognize who influences what and how one gains influence without causing friction.
Three Ideas for Raising Children with Social Awareness
In order to raise kids who show empathy and know how to successfully navigate group dynamics, there are three things you can do.
- Travel: The more you can introduce your children to other cultures, the more appreciation and understanding they will have for those cultures. In order to do this travel must be less about tourism and excursions, and more about experiencing the real lives of the local people.
- Embrace diverse friendships: If you have diverse friends, your children are more likely to have diverse friends as well. This will help your child see how much they have in common with people who come from different backgrounds. It’s much easier to show empathy with someone when you focus on the commonalities instead of the differences.
- Volunteer: Volunteering is one of the best ways to interact with people from different backgrounds. Whether it’s community service or helping those less fortunate, showing a child the importance of giving back is sure to teach them to show respect and compassion for others. What’s more, volunteering through leading a church or political group can provide a world of experience. Guiding a child in these type of highly emotional group environments by talking them through their experiences will give them a big head start.