Emotional availability: The key to motivating children towards success and creativity

Emotional Availability: The Key to Motivating Children for Success and Creativity

In today's world, where technology and business are advancing by leaps and bounds, it is important not to forget the most crucial aspect of raising and educating children: emotional availability. Emotional availability means the ability to create an environment where children feel safe, supported, and motivated. Just as successful startups build their teams on trust and open communication, we as parents and educators can apply these principles in our relationships with children.

In this article, we will explore how emotional availability affects children's motivation, their ability to learn, and develop. We will also provide practical tips, games, and ideas that you can implement in everyday life to support your children's personal and professional growth.

Why is Emotional Availability Important?

Emotional availability is the cornerstone of quality relationships and effective learning. Children who feel emotionally available are:

More open to new experiences: When children feel safe, they are willing to try new things and take risks of failure.
More capable of communicating: Children who are emotionally available are not afraid to express their feelings and opinions, leading to better communication.
More motivated: When children are supported, they feel motivated to strive for success and achieve their goals.
More resilient: Emotional availability helps children cope with failures and obstacles.

Practical Tips for Supporting Emotional Availability

Here are some recommendations to help you create an emotionally available environment for your children:

Active Listening: Give children your full attention when they talk to you. Show them that their feelings and opinions are important.
Support Their Interests: Help children discover and develop their hobbies and talents. Supporting their passions motivates them to succeed.
Create a Routine: Stability and predictability create a sense of safety that is crucial for emotional availability.
Value Effort, Not Just Results: Teach children that success comes from hard work and determination, not just from the final outcome.
Be Open to Mistakes: Teach children that mistakes are part of learning and growth. Encourage them to learn from them and keep trying.

Games and Activities to Support Emotional Availability

To support emotional availability, you can also use various games and activities:

Feelings Game: Create cards with different emotions and let children guess what feelings are depicted. Then discuss situations in which these emotions may occur.
Family Brainstorming: Every once in a while, sit down as a family and discuss new ideas, projects, or activities you could do together.
Real-Life Stories: Share stories with your children about times you overcame obstacles and what feelings you experienced. This will help them see that they are not alone in their struggles.
Shared Goals: Set family goals that you will work on together. It can be anything from creating a garden to volunteering.
Create a “Culture of Appreciation”: Take time each week to express appreciation for things you have achieved or for the effort you have put in.

Conclusion

Emotional availability is key to motivating children and their successful development. Parents and educators should create an environment where children feel supported and safe. This way, we allow them to grow, boldly try new things, and develop their talents. Let us not forget that investing in emotional availability always pays off, not just for the children, but also for us as parents and educators.

Get personalized recommendations for your growth – choose your answers

When someone close to you is going through a tough time, how do you naturally react to that? I'm trying to cheer them up and distract them from the problem.
I will offer them a practical solution so they can move forward.
I just listen and try to understand their feelings.
Sometimes I don't know what to say, and I feel powerless.
I avoid situations where I feel that others are projecting their emotions onto me.

Imagine that a close person is talking to you about their fears, which they perceive as large, but to you they seem small. What will you do? I will tell him that it's not that serious, and I will encourage him to get over it.
I'm trying to understand why it means so much to him.
I will offer him a different perspective that could help him see things more clearly.
I may feel frustrated, but I try not to hide it.
I don't focus on the content, but on its emotional state and how I can support it.

When you feel emotionally overwhelmed, how does it affect your communication with your loved ones? I will withdraw into myself and stop responding to messages.
I talk about it, but only with someone I really trust.
I express it through humor or irony.
I am trying to behave normally, but inside I feel distant.
I am looking for physical contact or closeness to feel safe.

If a close person reacts to your feelings differently than you expected, what do you most often do? I will take offense and pull away for a moment.
I will try to explain to them why I expected a different reaction.
I will start analyzing whether I expressed my feelings incorrectly.
I'll leave it as it is and convince myself that it doesn't matter.
I tell myself that they might react differently than they know, and I take it with a sense of detachment.

How would you describe your boundaries in emotional relationships? I have them, but I often bend them to maintain harmony.
They are solid, and I can clearly state what is acceptable to me and what is not.
Sometimes I don't know exactly where they are, and I only find out in specific situations.
I always try to be there for others, even though it exhausts me.
I don't always realize that someone is crossing my boundaries until I start to feel bad.

What is your first impulse when you see that someone close is closing themselves off? I am trying to cheer him up and bring lightness to the situation.
I am waiting to see if he will tell me what is happening, and I will give him space.
I will start to notice the details and think about what might be bothering him.
I feel the fear that I might have accidentally harmed him/her.
I give him space, but at the same time, I let him know that I'm here if he needs me.

When you feel the need for emotional support, how do you most often seek it? I will directly ask someone I trust for it.
I'm waiting to see if someone notices that I need her.
I am looking for contact, but I do not speak about it openly.
I try to distract myself in different ways, such as through work or hobbies.
I suppress it and tell myself that I have to deal with it on my own.

What type of communication helps you feel the most emotionally fulfilled? Simple and honest conversations without unnecessary analyzing.
Deep discussions where I can express all my thoughts and feelings.
Physical proximity and nonverbal gestures that express care.
Positive and playful communication that makes me happy.
When someone can be silent beside me, but I can feel their presence.

When I disappoint someone or make a mistake in a relationship, what is my natural reaction? I will immediately apologize and try to rectify the situation.
I am deeply analyzing it and thinking about what I could have done differently.
I'll let the situation sit for a while and then I'll come back to it.
I feel guilty and have the need to somehow "make amends."
I'm trying not to think about it and I hope it will resolve itself over time.

If you had to choose a metaphor for your emotional expression, what would it be? An open book – my emotions are visible to everyone.
Safe – I have many feelings inside me, but very few have access to them.
Mirror – I adjust to the emotional moods of others.
The sea - sometimes calm, sometimes turbulent, but always deep.
The journey - I am constantly evolving and learning how to express what I feel.