The advantages of reading are well-documented. Getting your children started with reading at an early age can provide significant benefits that give them a headstart over those who start reading later. Reading helps children expand their vocabulary, learn about syntax, and develop better comprehension skills. However, there’s also an overlooked benefit of reading that most people don’t know. Reading can help improve your child’s emotional intelligence.

What is Emotional Intelligence and Why Should Children Improve It?

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to manage, understand, and positively channel your emotions. There are five components of emotional intelligence. These include self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.

The importance of teaching emotional intelligence to young children has been ongoing for decades. Increasingly, government bodies and educational authorities are recognizing the need to equip children with emotional intelligence abilities.

Teaching children about emotional intelligence can help them express their emotions healthily. Moreover, it can help them to channel their emotions more positively and avoid falling into negative emotions.

How Books Can Help Improve Your Child’s Emotional Intelligence

Books can help improve your child’s emotional intelligence in several ways. They include:

Producing Emotional Responses

If your child reads a book that hits close to home, they’re more likely to feel and exhibit emotions. Whether that’s crying or laughter, books can help children produce emotional responses. Children can then recognize these responses to a particular situation and apply them to real-life scenarios. Moreover, reading simulates reality and activates brain regions that would function in an actual setting. Therefore, children who read books are more likely to have a better understanding of their emotions. Moreover, they have the tools and knowledge to exhibit them. Furthermore, reading can help them identify emotional triggers and associate emotions with them.

Enhances Self-Awareness

Reading books also helps children enhance their self-awareness. Self-awareness is one of the primary components of emotional intelligence. Moreover, having self-awareness is essential for forging relationships, whether in your personal life or at school. Children can benefit from reading because it nurtures a sense of self in them. In addition, when a child reads a book, they understand the emotions that a character is going through, and they try to place themselves in the character’s shoes. Doing so allows them to evaluate their values, encouraging emotional growth.

Improves Social Perception

Reading also improves social perception because it gives children an insight into other’s values, beliefs, and social norms. Moreover, it creates a social connection between the reader and the characters, and often, the characters have vastly different life experiences than the child reading them. Therefore, reading enhances a child’s understanding of the world and improves their social perception, enabling them to see the world through other people’s eyes and making them more open-minded.

Develops Empathy

Empathy is an essential part of emotional intelligence. Studies show that there’s a significant link between reading and empathy. Reading can hone empathy because it allows your child to place themselves in the character’s shoes and see the world from their perspective. Moreover, it enables them to imagine life as that character, which breeds empathy within children.