Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation raises awareness about emotional intelligence

Parenting Workshop on ‘Creating Emotionally Intelligent Homes' to be conducted by foundation's Early Childhood Development Program

Abu Dhabi, 2 February 2014: As the ability of children to identify and understand emotions are keys to developing their emotional intelligence quotient (EQ), a parenting workshop on ‘Creating Emotionally Intelligent Homes' is to be hosted by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation's Early Childhood Development Program.

To be held on the 3rd and 4th February 2014, the workshop will be conducted by Dr. Marc Brackett and Dr. Robin Stern, Director and Associate Director respectively of the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence.

“It is not the high IQ of a child that leads to academic, professional, and social success,” says Dr. Brackett. “It is a high emotional intelligence quotient (EQ).” 

“Therefore, it is essential that parents know how to create homes that are conducive for children to develop their ability to identify and understand their own as well as others' emotions, to be able to control or inspire those emotions, and finally to effectively manage these emotions in their relationship with others,” Dr. Brackett explains.

Early years for children are a vital learning stage especially as they are also emotionally maturing. Thus, conditions that assist in the development of their EQ also enable them to handle uneasy situations and focus on problem-solving.

“With parents' primary focus on academic excellence, the social emotional learning aspect is often neglected,” says Dr. Stern. “However, it is these very social skills that are integral to academic performance and just like adults, if a child is angry or upset their ability to learn drops and their memory and attention is affected.”

Fostering emotional intelligence in children to ensure that they are healthier and better able to deal with challenges, Dr. Brackett and Dr. Stern will educate their audience – parents, grandparents, other family members as well as professionals of ECD – on the subject of emotional intelligence and how to integrate it with parenting. They would also answer questions from the audience during the discussion.

“The Foundation's goal is to create a culture committed to early childhood development within the UAE by facilitating workshops that integrate Emirati values with international best practices,” elucidated Sheikha Shamsa bint Mohammed Al Nahyan, leader and founder of the fellowship program.

She further added, “The parenting workshops are offered by world leaders in early childhood development so that the parents and caregivers of young children in the UAE are empowered and can promote healthy outcomes.”

Conducted twice a month, the Parenting Workshop series started from 6 January 2014 and will continue till the 6 May 2014 attendees can attend the workshop either at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, and at Tawam Hospital Polyclinic, Al Ain.

Topics for the upcoming series include: the father's role in childcare, health habits, and best practices for setting limits with children.

To register for the parenting workshop, please email us on eduprogram@shf.ae