How can my child benefit from social-emotional learning?

Do you see your child or teen struggling in school, lacking motivation or interpersonal skills?

A child alone on a beach looking at the waves

Social-emotional learning can help!

Social-emotional learning (SEL) refers to how people:

regulate emotions
communicate
build relationships
make decisions
use compassion to understand the needs of others

A social-emotional learning program could be the right course of action for your child's development.

Why Is Social Emotional Learning Important?

According to research, learners who participated in a social-emotional learning program develop:

Self-Awareness — Understanding your strengths and weaknesses
Self-Management — Ability to recognize and manage your own emotions
Responsible Decision Making — Ability to make positive choices for yourself
Social Awareness — Recognizing other people's emotions and being able to empathize
Relationship skills — Being able to communicate clearly and maintain healthy relationships

A man sitting in a theater alone passionately saying 'My Emotions!'

The Benefits Of Social Emotional Learning

SEL not only leads to improved academic outcomes and behavior, but also builds lifelong coping skills. It helps children and teens:

Improve decision making.
Have empathy towards others.
Deal with stress.
Set and achieve positive goals for themselves.
Build the skills needed to develop and maintain positive relationships.
Understand and manage their own behavior.
Photo by MI PHAM on Unsplash

Quiz

Mrs. Miller's daughter Elizabeth is "bossy" with other children her age. She tells them what to do and doesn't respond when they tell her to stop. As a result, Elizabeth has a hard time developing friendships. How can SEL help her?

Help her understand others' feelings

Help her not get teased

Help her persuade others

Help her stand up for herself

Did you know?

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Take Action

Two children playing with a box of colored chalk

If you're interested in exploring social-emotional learning for your child:

Check out books about SEL from your local library or online.

Check out the free resources on The Pathway to Success website.

Does your child's or teen's school have an SEL program? Ask them to send you information about the program.

Check out more Bytes on parenting.