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Mom Squad: Why "emotional intelligence" is key for your child

Studies show developing "emotional intelligence" is just as important as standard education. Listen to our podcast explaining how to encourage emotional development

CLEVELAND — Over the past year, we focused so much on how much our kids learned - or maybe even fell behind - when it came to education. But something they also missed out on is developing their "emotional intelligence". This is how they understand their own big feelings and how they interact with friends.

In this week's "Mom Squad Pod" podcast, Maureen Kyle goes one on one with Dr. Kim Bell, who talks about how emotional intelligence is almost more important than book smarts.

Here's what Dr. Bell had to say when she asked: “What do you tell your kids when they aren't getting along with friends?”:

“Everybody is working on something and if somebody is mean to you they're having a trouble. You know, I try building sort of that empathy without saying ‘be a doormat’ or whatever,” said Bell.

“And it's also okay if you're you know your feelings are hurt. It's okay to make a lot of different choices. It's okay to choose not to play with somebody. You know, one of the things in our Hannah Perkins school that we really work on is children being able to go up to other children and saying ‘Can i play with you?’ And if that other child says ‘no’, then we work on ‘how do you accept a ‘no?’ Like, you have to be able to accept when your feelings are hurt,” Bell said.

Kyle and Dr. Bell also talked about how some things you might see as behavior issues is just their development, and how teens are still looking for a connection with you. The entire interview is available now on Apple, Spotify and anywhere you get your podcasts.

Listen to the Mom Squad Pod on Apple Podcasts

Listen to the Mom Squad Pod on Spotify

Listen to the Mom Squad Pod on Google Podcasts

EDITOR'S NOTE: The video in the player below is from a previous story.

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