Editor’s Note: The Museum is currently closed due to a flooding. Check the website to get the latest information.
XOXO: An Exhibit about Love & Forgiveness leaves the DuPage Children’s Museum on February 1, 2015!
Developing Emotional Intelligence
From infancy, human beings express emotions naturally. Developmentally children 3-5 years old are learning to understand and regulate their feelings – and to recognize and respect the feelings of others. Considerable research has shown that social-emotional understanding is important to success in school and on the job.
DuPage Children’s Museum in Naperville, Illinois is introducing a new way for families to express and explore emotions together with the opening of XOXO, An Exhibit about Love and Forgiveness. To help children become resilient, innovative, life-long learners, the Museum is working to provide experiences and resources for parents, educators and caregivers that give them new ways to support children to achieve that goal.
Almost 20 years ago, Daniel Goleman popularized the term Emotional Intelligence (EI). His best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence: Why it Matters More than IQ, informed readers of a theory that defines our understanding of the emotions we all feel. At the time, Goleman’s theory on EI was groundbreaking and expanded upon Howard Gardner’s work on Multiple Intelligences. There has been a great amount of thought and research developed over the years related to EI.
As stated by Jeffery Berstein, Ph. D. and author of Liking the Child You Love, EI appears to be a key predictor of children’s ability to make suitable peer relationships, get along at home, develop a well-balanced outlook on life, and reach their academic potential at school. The term encompasses the following five characteristics and abilities:
- Self-awareness – knowing your emotions, recognizing feelings as they occur, and discriminating between them.
- Mood management – handling feelings so they’re relevant to the current situation and you react appropriately.
- Self-motivation – “gathering up” your feelings and directing yourself toward a goal, despite self-doubt, inertia, and impulsiveness.
- Empathy – recognizing feelings in others and tuning into their verbal and nonverbal cues.
- Managing relationships – handling interpersonal interaction, conflict resolution, and negotiations.
DuPage Children’s Museum in Naperville, Illinois is currently hosting the exhibit XOXO: An Exhibit about Love & Forgiveness, a traveling exhibit from the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. XOXO is an exhibit where families can come together in a place that fosters conversations and interactive experiences around love, forgiveness, and exploration of emotions.