As a parent, you play one of the most important roles in your children's emotional development. The tools and resources in this section will help you guide them in building the social and emotional skills they need to thrive in life.
Parents are a child’s lifelong teacher – and still need outside allies.
To varying degrees, parents prepare children with skills to manage their inner lives and outer relationships in ways that allow them to shine. Then there’s what kids experience both helpful and not helpful outside their homes.
Schools can work alongside parents so that the outcomes parents seek in their children’s wellbeing, mental health, life skills and emotional intelligence (EQ) are enhanced throughout the school day. This curriculum is mostly called Social and Emotional Learning. It’s a major positive difference maker because school is where PreK – 12 students experience the majority of their social interactions.
After years of growing parent support for this education,, parents now have to be active again for funding it given federal cutbacks. That means parents need to (1) contact your schools directly (see our Guide below) and (2) make sure your state legislators and Congress people know your wishes. Find them at USA.gov.
Also, visit our EQ home learning Video Platform and separately our Toolkit to bring these practices into your home. Click button below to see research evidence of the benefits of school’s helping build your child’s social and emotional life skills.
How to ask for EQ Life Skills in your schools and the funding for it.
More than 80% of parents support education that helps kids set and achieve goals, approach challenges in a positive way, believe in themselves, and make ethical choices. – among many other life skills and benefits we share with you here.
Sadly, many schools are now being forced to cut back on successful programs while others can’t provide a comprehensive curriculum that addresses all the life skills that Social and Emotional Learning can impart.
Reminder: Let your elected officials know your desires. Find them at USA.gov.
Here’s our guide to getting enhanced SEL activities into your child’s school.
6-Year-Old Cordelia Dubois enlightens the New Hampshire Legislature about what she gained from SEL in her school.
SEL for
every
family.
check out
these webinars.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is proven to equip kids with the personal and interpersonal skills they need to succeed in school, career, relationships, and life.
Each year we and our allies create webinars for SEL Day featuring parenting experts for parents and SEL-experienced students sharing to other students.
To discover more about this learning and the folks who make it happen:.
Visit our 2023 SEL Day parenting webinar.
Visit our extensive 2022 SEL Day parenting webinars.
Students or parents can visit our two SEL Day 2024 webinars.
Featuring SEL experienced High School students.
Featuring our Youth Board members about social media and EQ/SEL.
Let your middle or HS kid know about our student activities.
We’d like to see more student support for getting these life skills into their schools – and in some cases other schools – so they can enjoy better school performance (including grades) and happier school experiences – leading to more success tomorrow. If you think your daughter or son might be willing to join you in advocating in their schools, they can also check out this page.
What Is EQ and SEL?
Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, consists of several groups of crucial emotional life skills. These teachable skills include
- Self-confidence and motivation toward productive goals
- Self-management of inner life and feelings and thoughtful, honest self expression
- Wise decision making and success skills
- Creating and sustaining great relationships
- High levels of empathetic social, conflict resolution and communication skills
Social and Emotional Learning, or SEL, is how these life skills are taught in school.
Why are EQ and SEL important for kids and schools?
Teaching Social and Emotional Learning in schools creates a fun, safe, and healthy learning environment where all students thrive academically and in personal growth and happiness.
That’s not just our opinion–we’ll show you the research from Harvard, Google, American Enterprise Institute, Brookings Institution, and many more.
Why are EQ and SEL important for adults?
According to the National Network of Business and Industry Associations, employable skills that everyone should possess include
- Personal skills
- People skills
- Workplace skills
- Applied knowledge
Schools today focus heavily on applied knowledge, even though it accounts for just a quarter of the skills employers desire. The other three quarters? Those are EQ skills that are taught through SEL curriculum.
And according to the Harvard Business Review, nearly 90% of success in work can be attributed to EQ rather than applied knowledge.
EQ also leads to success outside of work, in relationships, parenting, and community life.
Don't schools already teach Social and Emotional Learning?
Today, barely 25% of schools offer a comprehensive approach to Social and Emotional Learning.
But, more than 80% of parents support education that grows their child’s Emotional Intelligence.
Parents work everyday as best they know how to increase their kids’ life skills, and nearly all of them want schools to help in this vital process.
EQuip Our Kids! is a national nonprofit campaign raising needed awareness about and support for EQ life skills – especially among parents and businesses.
Our goal is comprehensive EQ life skills instruction in every U.S. preK – 12 classroom by 2030.