The Importance of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) | Episode 6 SHICHIDA Shining Stars Podcast

Danh: Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the SHICHIDA Shining Stars Podcast, a podcast where we address all the questions parents have about early childhood education. My name is Mr. Danh and with me today is a very special guest, the center manager for our SHICHIDA Chatswood Campus, Taryn Magua. Hi Taryn!

Taryn: Hi Danh. how are you?

Danh: I’m well, how are you?

Taryn: Very good. Thank you.

Danh: Taryn is here today to help us talk about EQ. So people might not be aware of what EQ is. Tazzie. But in a nutshell, could you please explain what is EQ?

Taryn: I’d love to do that Danh, it’s a very, very important part of anyone’s life. EQ is the measurement of your ability to understand and manage your emotions.

Danh: Okay, so, EQ is a bit different to IQ. A lot of people might be familiar with IQ, but how does EQ differ from IQ?

Taryn: Yes. So, IQ measures your ability basically to solve problems, to think logically, but of course you need both of them. You know, the IQ definitely complements the EQ and vice versa in order for you to contribute to different areas of your life.
So this is why it’s so important that children are able to develop both of these so that we can have that well-rounded, holistic child.

Danh: Okay. So you need both sides of the equation. You need that, you know, the intelligence to solve things critically, but you also need that emotional intelligence, which is IQ, right. To be able to manage your emotions and growth, maybe not just as an academic, but as a person.

Taryn: Exactly right. Exactly. So, somebody with empathy, someone with understanding and compassion, someone who can contribute to the world in different ways and not necessarily just having that IQ, but knowing how to deal with people and treat people.

Danh: Yeah, definitely a very important aspect of everyday life, right? Like, you know, we’re always talking to people in our daily lives and having to deal with people on a daily basis, Having the emotional intelligence to be able to understand other people’s feelings is quite important.

How about for kids specifically? So like when we are talking about kids that are in the SHICHIDA Program, you know, they’re very young, some as young as six months old, but how is developing EQ at that stage of life important?

Taryn: Yeah. So, Mr. Danh, you can start as young as possible. IQ is important for children because they get to regulate their emotions and express their feelings, demonstrating things like empathy and compassion and obviously recognizing and naming their own emotions as well.

So high emotional intelligence is definitely linked to better mental health, academic performance and social skills as well. So able to interact with anybody that they come across. And, you know, that could just be in the format of teaching your child just good manners in terms of treating others with respect and kindness. And, you know, that can start from a very early age just by saying thank you and appreciating somebody who’s serving you a plate of food, say, it starts right down at the very little toddler and of course, a baby. Especially in the SHICHIDA Program, we have activities that enhances that skill so they are able to recognize mommy or daddy giving them something and then, you know, reciprocating and saying thank you. So just a little thing like that can really build that skill in a child.

Danh: Because I guess kids at that age, they don’t really have a full concept of what is right and what is wrong, what is good behavior, and what isn’t good behavior, because, you know, everything is really new to them, right?

So the natural instinct for a child may be to throw a toy, for example. It’s not that they’re trying to do something wrong. It is just that that is their natural instinct. That’s what they want to do at the time.

Taryn: Exactly. It’s like a cause-and-effect kind of thing. What happens if I throw this? What’s the reaction around me going to be?

Danh: That’s right. Okay. So it’s important to kind of like show what the reaction is.

Taryn: That’s right. Modeling behavior. That’s right.

Danh: All right. So you talked about how SHICHIDA fosters EQ in children. Can we get a little bit more specific about like the kinds of activities that we do at SHICHIDA that helps foster EQ and maybe some things that parents might be able to do at home as well to help teach their kids kind of emotional resilience and development.

Taryn: Yeah, of course. So at SHICHIDA we believe in engaging the hearts of children, we engage their minds. So we always teach fun, love, acceptance and praise within all of the classes. Makoto Shichida, who obviously is our founder, he believes that when you raise a child’s EQ, IQ will automatically increase.

So there’s a few of the things that we do, and one of them is our mindfulness exercises.
In the beginning of the class, you know, we sort of get the children into that alpha wave state where they’re really calm and content and able to receive as much information as they can. And we start with, you know, just calming down their breathing.

Also, we have an activity that’s called the Words to Polish Your Heart.

This is just teaching them life skills, you know, how to treat people. How do we feel when we treat a person in this way? And we have a series of these Words to Polish Your Heart that go right through the curriculum and eventually in the Primary Program, they get to pick their favorite, the one that’s really resonated with them through the years at SHICHIDA. And that’s a really heartwarming thing to see. And they love to give examples of why we should or shouldn’t be doing something as they grow up in the years.

And then in the Primary Program, we do a lot of group discussions and debate. And this is really amazing to see how these children collaborate. You know, they see the side of everybody’s argument and they’re able to collaborate with that person without getting into an argument.

For me, that’s one of the best things that I think SHICHIDA does is just raising those children who are able to, you know, speak to anybody from all walks of life and being able to discuss things without getting angry because that person perhaps doesn’t agree with your thought process.

Danh: It’s cool that they do start this kind of activity quite early on, like you mentioned, the energy bubble and like the controlled breathing. That’s all part of EQ. But by the time they get to the point where they’re able to kind of not only articulate themselves but also debate and come up with arguments for their point of view, that’s when it really comes out and we can kind of see how all the foundational work that we’ve done from the early years, it has led them to this point where they’re able to understand another person’s point of view and also convey their point of view in in a way that doesn’t result in arguments.

Taryn: Exactly. So it’s actually a lot of fun Mr. Danh when you see them coming up with their thought processes. And it’s really, really an exciting part of the program too. And it’s wonderful to see children get to that level. They really are so young, but they are so mature.

Danh: Yeah, they are. In the Primary Program, they’re still only seven years old, eight years old, right?

Taryn: Correct.

Danh: Yeah. That’s really young to be able to do that kind of thing. Do your debates ever get heated?

Taryn: I guess you could find one or two that are really passionate about something.

Danh: It’s the cats versus dogs argument, right? That’s the one that always triggers them.

Taryn: Exactly. But I always find that they find that common ground where they can relate either way and just find a good thing about whatever it is they get given.

So, you know, they’re just grateful and I think very blessed to be able to have those skills that will help them in their later years as adults in the adult world, which as we know, is not an easy world to be in. And if they have those skills, they’ll be A for away.

Danh: Yeah, definitely. You know, Makoto Shichida’s program is often referred to as Soul Education, not just educating the mind, but also the heart and the soul.

So trying to create well-rounded individuals, not just academically, but, you know, morally and ethically as well. So that makes a lot of sense.
But going back to what parents might be able to do at home to help foster in EQ and their kids. So let’s say like if I had a toddler, for example, and I was kind of having a hard time because, you know, the terrible twos, you know, they can start throwing tantrums and whatnot. What’s a good thing that I could practice at home to kind of help my child through that difficult period of life.

Taryn: Well Danh, as we know, parents are the first and best teachers of any child, right? Obviously here at SHICHIDA, we can assist and we can help grow their child. But parents are obviously the ones who have to deal with those terrible two tantrums, etc.. Yeah. So I believe that they play the most vital role in the program because the children will look to them first.

And with those parents engaging their hearts with love and praise, you’ll definitely see their EQ and their IQ rise and modeling behavior, showing compassion to others definitely fosters that ability to raise their kids. And then, you know, like you mentioned, the terrible twos, perhaps a child just throwing a tantrum, etc.. It is the parent’s responsibility to take control of the situation and explain to them why that is not the way we have to behave.

 

And there’s so many ways to do it. But we could have our listening ears on and we can be kind to the friend next to us. And you know, there’s so many easy, good ways of talking to children and validating their feelings. And I think that is one of the very important things that we need to remember, is children have feelings and they have questions and we need to respond to those questions and needs.

And even just in a small child like a six-month old, as you mentioned, just a little thing of smiling, laughing, cuddling with that child is so, so important, that contact that you have with them and you know that they feel special, that they feel loved. These are all really, really important in raising that EQ.

Danh: Yeah, we often say that kids at that age between zero and two, they’re absorbing everything around them, right?

And that’s not just about information, but also emotions. Like I often say to parents, kids feed off our energy, right? If we’re getting frazzled, then the kids are going to get frazzled as well. So I guess as tough as it is, sometimes the best response to a tantrum is just to stay calm ourselves and talk our kids through it in a calm and loving way because they will feed off that energy as well.

Taryn: Obviously, as you mentioned, if you address that sort of situation in an enraged state, that child will definitely feed off that energy and, you know, respond in the same sort of way. But when you can actually get down on to their level, speak to them, give them those words of love and praise, they will understand that, okay, well, maybe what I did wasn’t right. And mommy and daddy are telling me to do this. So maybe next time I will do that. And you usually find that those sort of children are really adaptable and can change in different communities that they with, in terms of how they behave, they know what’s socially acceptable and what isn’t. That is just so important in today’s society.

Danh: Yeah, 100%. All right. Thank you, Tazzie, for your time and your insights into EQ.

Yeah, remember everybody, your baby is always learning and absorbing information from Day 1, so it’s never too early to start supporting their learning. The SHICHIDA program is a weekly 50 minute learning program using fun brain boosting techniques for children Age 0 to 9.

Each class accelerates your child’s development by providing the vital elements for them to thrive and excel. For more information on how the SHICHIDA Program has been helping parents and kids get an early start on education visit www.shichida.com.au. You can enter the coupon code FUN50 to receive a 50% discount off your first lesson.

Alternatively, you can follow us on Instagram @shichidaaustralia, you can join our Facebook group to be part of the conversation or you can subscribe to our YouTube channel to get instant access to a wealth of parenting and early childhood educational videos.
Thank you so much for listening and thank you again Tazzie for joining us.

Taryn: Thank you so much for having me. Mr. Danh. I really enjoyed my time.

Danh: All right, guys, until next time. Bye bye.