Children s emotional development has been neglected as part of social policy. Yet the healthy emotional development of children is vital to their ability to learn when young and to happiness as an adult. Emotions are contagious. Intense people spread their emotions to others. EQ for Everybody.
Childhood is a crucial time for the development of emotional acumen.
Particularly in the preschool years, what emotional quotient we have comes primarily from parents, relatives, and siblings. Likewise our feelings reflect the predominant feelings in the family, since children soak up emotions as well as information. Next in the order of importance, the school environment is critical to both our emotional development and our self esteem. The pattern of emotional intelligence may be set at an early age as children model after the significant others in their lives the expression of feelings and the way to resolve conflicts. However emotional intelligence is not fixed because the emotional chemistry of the body, primarily the amygdala, does not set into maturity until approximately age 15.