IQ has a partner in success
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2014 10:05 AM

Many parents attempt to help their kids succeed by improving their intelligence during childhood. Between brain-boosting activities and music lessons, kids are pushed to develop the highest IQ they can. While IQ is an important factor in success, it's certainly not the only one. Journalist and psychologist David Goleman believes that a person's emotional intelligence is just as important in predicting whether they will succeed later in life. 

Cognitive control
Emotional intelligence is really a colloquial term that encompasses cognitive control, which is a set of mental and emotional skills. Cognitive control is a person's ability to manage negative emotions, control their impulses, focus and delay gratification. It's a mental fortitude that allows a person to zero in on the steps it will take him or her to reach lifelong goals. 

"It's your expertise and intelligence that get you the job - but your emotional intelligence that makes you a success," Goleman told Business Insider.

He noted that studies have shown that kids with high IQs aren't necessarily the ones getting straight As. Children who work hard despite making mistakes generally sit at the top of their class. 

Developing control
Of course, children don't have strong cognitive control when they're young. Newborns are all impulse and they want gratification now. But parents can help foster the trait as their child develops. Many kids see a boost in their IQ score after going to school for some time - learning new information builds a person's crystallized intelligence. However, cognitive control is a little trickier. 

According to Time magazine, cognitive control encompasses the ability to concentrate, a function that lives in the brain's prefrontal cortex. The ability to focus develops from early childhood through young adulthood. While some kids naturally have a better talent for concentrating than others, the skill can be improved by having children play games. Challenges that require focus, such as musical chairs or Simon Says, exercise a person's mind. Even reading can help children develop the ability to concentrate. As with most skills, practice makes perfect (or at least it helps a person improve).

In addition to building focus, kids can improve their cognitive control by learning to manage stress. As homework piles up, classes get tough and their schedule is filled, students have tons of stress with which to contend. You can teach your child stress-management skills like taking deep breaths and writing to-do lists.

Moreover, you can help your child succeed by working on both his or her IQ and cognitive control.