The New Year offers a fresh opportunity o explore ways to improve one’s parenting style.  One idea that is supported by millennial moms encourages parents to actively engage in the development of the emotional quotient (EQ) of their children.





Today, more and more Filipino moms are engaging their kids in activities that can help develop their EQ long before they enter playschool. Unlike in previous years when child rearing was heavily focused on cognitive intelligence, millennial moms are now more conscious of the importance of developing a child’s emotional intelligence as well.

 


This is strongly supported by the results of the first-ever survey on moms across Southeast Asia commissioned by Mead Johnson Nutrition, which sought to understand the concerns and hopes that these parents in the region have for their children.

The result reveals that millennial moms consider intelligence quotient or IQ as no longer enough to guarantee a child’s future success. Majority of the respondents, including Filipino moms, believe that their child’s emotional quotient or EQ is just as important as IQ. The EQ reflects the child’s ability to identify, evaluate, control, and even perceive emotions.






The online study showed that 88 percent of Filipino mother ranked EQ as equally, if not more important than IQ, sharing the sentiment with 91 percent of moms in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Over 3,000 moms from these six Southeast Asian countries participated in the survey conducted by an independent research agency.

Filipino moms also ranked high EQ-associated traits, deeming these as important for their children’s success. Topping the list is their child’s ability to adapt to any situation with 65 percent, while empathy ranked least important with 13 percent.

On the regional level, 58 percent of moms mirrored the importance of their child’s ability to adapt to any situation in their future success. This was succeeded by the ability to problem-solve, ability to be independent, ability to work well with others, creativity, and critical thinking. The ability to empathize ranked low with 18 percent.

The sentiment of the moms surveyed in the Philippines and abroad are reflective of the changing concerns parents have for their children. Based on a World Economic Forum report released in September this year, skills such as Complex Problem solving, Critical thinking, Creativity, and People Management-all EQ-related traits-were ranked as most important to have in 2020. While IQ still played a crucial role, EQ was the more dominant trait.

Along with mom’s guidance and support, giving proper nutrition to children has become one of the best ways to help ensure kids develop emotional intelligence. This prompted pediatric nutrition experts to boost their ingredients to help address the IQ and EQ development among children.

True to this thrust as a partner in child development, leading pediatric nutrition innovator, Mead Johnson Nutrition, recently launched its biggest breakthrough since DHA -  the reformulation that includes MFGM Pro or milk fat globule membrane in its milk for children, Enfagro A+ Four. By providing an enabling environment for learning and exploration, partnered with proper nutrition in Enfagro A+ four enriched with MFGM and DHA, parents can help in the development of the IQ and EQ of their children.