A Guide for Parents & Guardians to Enhance Emotional Intelligence Skills During Summer Vacation for Children (Part 2)

By?Marjorie Colindres, MSW, LCSW

Clinical Support Leader – School Social Work Education,

AnthroMed Education

Introduction

This is the second part of the blog, which guides parents and guardians to strengthen emotional intelligence (EI) for children and teens (C&T) during the summer months. When teaching a specific skill, it is necessary to be consistent and set reasonable expectations of the expected growth. It is strongly encouraged to provide positive feedback to C&T for exhibiting desired behaviors*. Thus, teaching responsible decision-making and expected social skills in a job setting can be practiced and further developed during the break.

Responsible Decision-Making

From an early age, it is essential to practice conflict-resolution skills. Responsible decision-making is the ability to identify situations that require a solution**. BrainPop has free videos online that provide elementary-age children with how to mediate and problem-solve situations. It is essential that parents/guardians model and practice healthy conflict resolution skills so that children can apply them consistently. An example of a video is below.?

In the teen years, the ability to problem-solve peer pressure and challenging topics such as dating, sex, and drugs can be complex topics. However, if parents and guardians build a strong relationship with their teens, they are more likely to come forward to challenging situations they are experiencing. The role of the guardian is to remain calm, be an active listener, and provide feedback with empathy***. Building a rapport with adolescents can be done by doing activities they enjoy. Parents/guardians can make a bonfire and make s’mores, play video games, play card games, or go for a bike ride in the summer months with their teens. These experiences create a bond and help to build a trusting relationship. When a problematic situation arises, teens should approach a trusted adult to make positive decisions. Applying responsible decision-making skills is critical to developing positive social interactions with others.

Social Interaction Skills in Job Settings

Social interactions are essential skills to practice to build meaningful relationships with people. The capacity to start a conversation and engage in a dialogue by using verbal and non-verbal language is a skill that is used in structured (e.g., school and jobs) and unstructured (e.g., gathering with a group of friends) environments.**** ?For example, children can practice initiating a conversation by doing a job like having a lemonade stand. Children can practice doing functional skills like squeezing fresh lemons and putting together a table. Then engage in marketing by creating a sign selling their product. Adult supervision is needed in every aspect of this idea. Still, it allows children to commit to initiating a conversation to sell their product and practice counting money and saving their profits. Building foundational social skills help to shape children long-term as they become young teens.

In the adolescent years, having a job gives youth a sense of purpose when they are off from school. Some of the typical jobs for this age group are pet sitting, babysitting, working in retail, working as a receptionist, being golf caddies, etc. Adults' initial support helps increase confidence when embarking on a new task. Parents and guardians may need to assist youth in interviewing and completing job applications. The teens' social skills are further developed by interacting with people in a work environment and practicing responsible skills (e.g., arriving on time to work, completing expected tasks, reporting back to the supervisor). In sum, social interactions are necessary skills to develop to morph into adulthood.

Conclusion

To summarize, C&T need to have a keen awareness of self and others, positive attitudes and values, responsible decision-making skills and expected social skills to interact with people. The strategies provided in these two blogs were meant to enhance EI during the summer months. The most crucial factor is staying consistent with the chosen activity or activities the C&T will be doing. Children thrive on consistency and predictability to store information in long-term memory. It is highly encouraged to practice the skills regularly to enable growth.

Sources:

*: (Dujivenvoodre et al., 2008; Jenson et al., 2003)

**: (Payton et al., 2009)

***: (Graybill, 1986)

****: (Payton et al., 2009)