Take the Cue – EQ vs IQ

“I heard about the full marks in the Vedic Maths paper Raman scored this semester! Congratulations, Seema!” remarked Tanvi.

“Thank you Tanvi, he does have a knack for Maths; however, his anger and tantrum issues are increasing by the day; he has been picking up fights with other kids daily these days, I am concerned” sighed Seema.

“Don’t worry, he will be fine, and I only see a bright future for him! Unlike my Chintu, who is polite, has many friends, but doesn’t have Raman’s intelligence.”
They both left toward their homes with a feeling of incompleteness.

E.g., if your eight-year-old child takes an IQ test and gets a score of 70, he has the mental age of a six-year-old and would probably need some guided and altered coaching techniques. On the flip side, if your eight-year-old has a score of 130, he has the intellectual capacity of a 10-year-old, and accordingly, curriculum, learning techniques have to be altered to suit that caliber.

An IQ test can thus prove to be a precise, personalized measurement of a child’s abilities basis in which parents can map out the most suitable path of maximizing their child’s potential or take precautionary steps to support their children if needed. But will focus on your child’s intelligence and taking efforts to improve it guarantee happiness, security, and success for its future? Does pragmatism always prevail when it comes to weaving a child’s future?

He also identified that the competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social skills differentiate the levels of emotional intelligence in individuals. Since the early 1990s, this concept has gained importance in leaps and bounds and is now a popularly recognized term; since development begins early, the younger population has been under the EQ scanner for some time now. The perennial question of EQ vs. IQ in kids is more relevant than ever, with the balance of scales heavily tilted in favor of EQ.

Daniel Goleman further remarks that IQ makes up for only a mere 20% of the factors that determine success, while other factors like EQ, wealth, temperament, family, education complete the loop. To master life and become a real achiever, IQ traits must be accompanied by EQ traits like motivation, perseverance, impulse control, coping mechanisms, and the ability to delay gratification. Children with a higher EQ tend to stay in school longer, have better academic achievements, are more cooperative, showcase leadership qualities in class.

It is a better determinant of future professional success than IQ. Children with better EQ, when enter adulthood, are better equipped to manage stress, come out of a crisis unscathed, and efficiently plan and manage their goals. Large corporations like Google, American Express in today’s recruitment, focus on the candidate’s EQ more than the apparent qualifications and work experience. EQ takes our pick in its contest against IQ.

Now, the million-dollar question is whether there are any known and proven techniques through which EQ be developed in children; the answer is yes:
• EQ begins at home; parents can keep a check on kids’ behaviors and correct them whenever deemed fit from an early age.

• Parents should also be aware of their own EQ; they should be very much in tune with their own emotions and attend workshops to be better.
• Parents should be less dismissive of their kid’s feelings and should always pay close attention to it.

• Compelling storytelling can be a powerful tool to develop EQ in children from an early age; they can be introduced to the world of social interaction, handling events, emotions, and situations.

• Parents shouldn’t always rush to ‘fix’ their children; they should give them space to experience and solve their emotional riddles first.

• Parents should always practice what they preach, telling their kids to keep a check on their emotions and them not doing it won’t be a good influence from an EQ perspective.

• Parents should always assess their child’s skills and be in a continuous process of showing them improvement areas, albeit in a constructive way only.

“Mumma, I only ate one roti today from my tiffin today.”

“Why Aarav beta? You weren’t feeling hungry today? said a slightly concerned Anita.

“No, Mumma, I gave one roti to Rahul, he had not got his tiffin box, and he was starving.”

“Well done beta, we should always share, and care about others in need,” said a proud Anita.

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