There still are some problems facing anyone when they are talking about the emotional intelligence (EI) in families, though they have already heard about it. The most obvious problem may be that some families do not pay enough attention to children’s EI development. Parents take EI for granted and what they see is only the marks in exam papers and the success of academic performance. They seldom teach children how to be sympathetic to others, how to behave properly in different occasions, how to control their temper, how to release stress and so on. All these definitely will play significant roles in children’s lives in the future. For such families, what they should do first is to have a clear idea and realize the importance of EI. Once they get the right attitude towards EI, they may probably do better in helping young people develop their EI. The next problem is the conflicts between young people and family members, more often with parents. Initially, the conflicts may block the communication between parents and children. As a consequence, they might block the way for parents to help children to develop their EI. For instance, young people and parents may hold different opinions on the same issue. Once they cannot understand each other, conflicts may occur, quarreling or unwilling to talk with each other. Without efficient communication, parents cannot do much in helping children develop their EI. To solve this problem, the parties of conflicts have to put themselves in the other’s position. More importantly, I think, parents should not talk to children as if they hold the full power and children have no choices but just to follow them. They can share their different ideas instead of trying to force the other to accept their own ideas unwillingly. My suggestion is to try to talk with each other more patiently, amicably and sincerely.
