Ted and Bubba Bear have to reach into Ted's emotional intelligence toolkit "In the Middle of a Dream" when Night Things come to call. With a little help from Mom, Ted learns to face and conquer his fears.

Studies have proven emotional intelligence, or EQ, is more important for successful living than IQ. Emotional intelligence is understanding and handling our emotions in ways that help us communicate well with others, promote empathy, overcome challenges, resolve conflict, and relieve our stressors. Pretty important stuff.

Even so, emotional intelligence isn't something we discuss or focus on often in our daily living. What is your child learning and putting into their emotional toolkit?

We learn through stories. Stories with characters who resolve emotional issues through emotionally intelligent behaviors help children build an emotional toolkit of self-confidence, self-awareness, self-discipline, empathy, boundaries, and perception. Children who learn to understand their feelings and empathize with the feelings of others are empowered to enhance all aspects of their lives and live more successfully.

Real or imagined, we must face our fears directly so we can understand and process them, creating self-awareness and self-confidence, empowering us to keep emotional fears from integrating into our lives.

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