What is SEL?
"SEL," which stands for Social & Emotional Learning, is an educational approach aimed at cultivating children's social skills, emotional management abilities, empathy, and compassion.
The learning objectives of SEL include:
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Learning to express and manage emotions appropriately
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Social skills such as cooperation, communication, empathy, and conflict resolution
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Enhancing problem-solving and critical thinking skills
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Fostering self-confidence and resilience
Research has shown that early SEL also has long term benefits in children’s academic outcomes, mental wellbeing, and career success.
Challenging behaviors that parents often encounter
According to the Positive Discipline Association, challenging behavior is just the tip of the iceberg. These are things like:
- Tantrums and meltdowns
- Always saying ‘no’
- Giving up easily
- Lack of respect
- Impatience
- Lack of independence
- Inability to concentrate
Instead of simply trying to correct the behavior, experts suggest looking beneath the iceberg to understand their feelings, thoughts, and beliefs. That’s where social & emotional learning comes in.
Co-regulation before self-regulation
Research shows SEL is like reading and writing - it’s a skill that needs to be taught! Before children learn to understand and regulate their feelings, they need ‘co-regulation’. Simply put, co-regulation is how parents help children regulate big feelings.
How do you start SEL at home with The Emomo Kit?
Emomo™ is a character we created to bridge the abstract world of ‘emotions’ with what children can understand. Emomo has different colors and expressions that clearly represent different emotions, which children can easily relate to.
Identifying feelings → Communicating feelings → Regulating feelings → Repeat daily
Step 1: Get familiar with Emomo through the storybooks
Step 2: Create a ‘Calming Corner’ at home with all the Emomo tools
Step 3: Use the Emomo Plush and Feelings Poster to start identifying feelings
Step 4: Using the Feelings Board to practice ‘Co-regulation’ with your child
Step 5: Older children can use the Thinking Journal for mindfulness, reflection, and gratitude practices
Meet our experts
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Eileen Parotino
Curriculum director at Tutor Time Int'l Nursery & Kindergarten
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Jamie Li
Children's psychotherapist and guidance counsellor
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Darien Suria
Experienced English teacher and children's book author
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Cecilia Ng
School principal at Tutor Time Int'l Nursery & Kindergarten
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Frances Suria
Experienced children's book illustrator and author
