Doug NollI'm called in when human dynamics are getting in the way of strategic leadership execution.

5 Ways to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

4 Feb 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:56

In this instructional video, emotional intelligence coach Doug Noll outlines five practical parenting strategies for fostering emotional intelligence in children. He emphasizes that children learn emotions primarily through observation rather than verbal instruction. The five steps are: (5) Model emotional awareness by verbally naming your own feelings; (4) Demonstrate emotional regulation by showing how you calm down, not by appearing perpetually calm; (3) Teach empathy through affect labeling, naming the child's observed feelings; (2) Expand the child's emotional vocabulary beyond basic labels to include nuanced terms like "nervous," "overwhelmed," and "proud"; and (1) Never invalidate a child's emotions, instead validate them to reinforce that feelings are acceptable. The video concludes with a call to follow for more simple emotional intelligence skills.

Chapters

5 ways to raise emotionally intelligent children from an emotional intelligence coach. Number 5: Model emotional awareness. Say what you feel out loud, like, "I'm frustrated," or, "I'm overwhelmed," because kids learn emotions by watching you name them. Number 4: Show emotional regulation. You don't have to be calm. You have to show how you calm down. Number 3: Teach empathy through affect labeling. Name what they're feeling, like, "You seem disappointed." This builds real empathy over time. Number 2: Grow their emotional vocabulary. Move beyond happy, instead of happy, sad, and mad. Use words like nervous, overwhelmed, or proud. This makes emotions easier to manage. And lastly, number 1, never invalidate emotions. Saying "don't cry" teaches kids that emotions are wrong, whereas validation teaches emotional intelligence. And over time, children develop emotional intelligence by what's modeled and not what's said. Follow if you want to learn simple emotional intelligence skills.