As a therapist, one of my goals as a mother is to create emotionally intelligent children. I mean, after all, that is one of the primary things I work to help adult clients embrace in therapy to increase relational satisfaction.

And the statistics on emotional intelligence say that a high EI makes for people who are successful, more confident, and better adjusted in this world. Some even think it can increase a person’s IQ.

Well, that either means one of two things about my oldest son. I’ve either created an emotional genius or a monster because the little dude is in touch with his emotions. And in no small way.

These are the kinds of things that are coming out of his mouth on daily basis.

I send him to his room, and he says. “Mommy, I am very disappointed with you.”

I tell him he can’t have more juice, and he replies, “Mommy, you are really frustrating me.”

I was telling my husband a story about our dog, and he said, “Hey, mommy. If you talk to Daddy like that, he is probably going to feel angry.”

What?! How old are you, kid? And who trained you to identify all these emotions?!

Oh, yeah. It was me.

Darn.

Because I am learning it is quite tricky to put a kid in time out when they are sitting there explaining their feelings about the situation.

Son: “Mommy, you are making me very sad.”

Me: “Well, honey, you should be sad because you hit your brother.”

Son: “But he made me angry.”

And so the cycle continues.

New Goal for my second son: Make him dumb as a rock in the emotional department. Kidding. (Kind of.)