Authors stress power of emotional intelligence

Renowned children's authors and educators emphasised that emotional intelligence and storytelling could play a defining role in shaping children's emotional growth and mental wellness at a session "Fostering Emotional Intelligence from the Early Years" at the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival (SCRF 2025) at Expo Centre Sharjah.

- Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Moderated by creative artist and lawyer Layla Mohammed, the session had Indian author Varun Duggirala, Kuwaiti author Sara Al Zhafiri and Emirati educator Maya Al Hawaari emphasising the need for self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation in children and how parents can enable and guide their children in building resilience and forming meaningful relationships.

Varun Duggirala, a children’s author, podcaster and entrepreneur, said learning to regulate emotions and developing social skills as a child was important. The author of Small Body, Big Feelings added that today's children manage anger issues a lot better than their parents’ generations. The Indian author pointed out that learning good traffic manners is one way of managing the social world, which in a child’s case includes the playground, school and family environment. He felt that “children gravitate more to screens only when they don't have enough social interactions”.