The core concept of emotional intelligence is the ever-emerging process of self-awareness, where individuals are able to identify their emotions and manage them in various social environments. This capacity is viewed as an asset in child care because new insights in human development have highlighted the importance of children's social and emotional development and the process through which it helps them learn. As individuals grow and develop from infancy to adolescence and into adulthood, they enter and experience the world in terms of relationships. Through relationships with parents and primary caregivers, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers learn the meaning of self and the value of self-regulation, an important part of social and emotional competence. This article examines empirical and theoretical insights into how adults mobilize their inner resources and socioemotional aptitude to achieve good relationships with their coworkers and with the children and youth in their care and, more important, how other caregivers can learn these life skills. The integrative approach to professional development embedded in these questions forms the heart of the Bringing Yourself to Work project based at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College. The project focuses on training educators in self-awareness and relational practices to foster positive socioemotional learning environments for children. Adding elements of emotional intelligence and relational practices to staff training offers essential coping tools to the after-school practitioner to better define and value the role of caregiver. (Contains 24 notes.)