Conversation Starters to Build Emotional Intelligence

Families are busy. We can’t always make the time to sit down and have conversations with our kids and talk about the many important things we want them to learn in childhood and adolescence.

Two of the top things parents can do for their kids to help them grow into healthy adults include family conversations and teaching emotional health. Teaching emotional health to our kids has been shown by researchers to be one of the most important things we can do.

This research shows that kids who have emotional intelligence developed throughout childhood grow up to:

Relate better with others
Have good social skills
Do well in relationships
Have self-control and emotional regulation
Do well in school
Bounce back when hard times kid
Build resilience

(Here is more information on Emotional Intelligence for Kids and Emotional Wellbeing for Parents.)

No matter your child’s age, you can support their emotional intelligence. And be sure to support your own as well! Our empathy, understanding, and support are absolutely crucial in helping them become successful adults.

In order to make the process of teaching emotional intelligence a little easier, here is a list of some conversation starters to foster an emotionally healthy mindset.

What would you do if you saw one of your friends was sad/angry/excited?
When was a time you were sad/angry/excited?
How did you handle feeling overwhelmed by your feelings?
Have you ever watched Mom/Dad be overwhelmed with their feelings?
Have you ever felt sad/angry for a few days?
What can you do to make yourself feel better when you are sad?
What makes you feel happy?
What is a hard thing you overcame?
Who have you seen being kind/mean?
When was a time you made someone feel happy/sad/angry?
What can you do if you hurt someone’s feelings?
Do you push away uncomfortable feelings?
Have you ever pretended to have a big feeling to get your way or get attention?
What are healthy ways to express being sad/angry/mad/frustrated/happy/excited?
Have you ever noticed a small feeling become a big feeling?
What could you do when you feel small uncomfortable feelings before they become big feelings?
What does it mean to feel angry/sad/happy?
What is a true friend?