While Mental Health Awareness Month may have come to an end, the importance of mental health remains a year-round concern. Just as we prioritize teaching children about healthy eating and physical fitness, it is equally crucial to guide them in caring for their minds.
(This is the box I have and love!)
One company that has children’s mental health at the forefront of their business is ParentingEQ. ParentingEQ is a forward-thinking company dedicated to empowering parents with emotional intelligence tools and resources for nurturing healthy and resilient children. With a focus on building strong parent-child connections, they provide invaluable support in navigating the complex world of parenting.
I had the delightful opportunity to explore and experience some of ParentingEQ's amazing products (which I absolutely adore, by the way!). Moreover, I had the pleasure of speaking with Amy Sage, one of the brilliant co-founders of ParentingEQ and asked her and her co-founder, Roni Nocon, to answer a few questions.
Tell us a little about yourselves, your business, and the motivation behind starting it.
ParentingEQ is a one-of-a-kind activity box company with the purpose of increasing children's emotional well-being by providing parents practical and easy to implement games, activities, and parenting tools. We have been School Counselors for the past 17 years. Throughout this time, we have seen an increase in children's mental health concerns such as stress, depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and negative self-worth. Parents are seeking ways to provide more emotional support at home and although there are some resources to address specific behaviors, there is not a comprehensive product to address how to build a positive family environment and increase overall emotional well-being. When the pandemic hit, we were home with our own elementary-aged children while still working as counselors and realized we needed to get this product out sooner rather than later. That is how ParentingEQ was born. Each line (Mini, ages 4-7 and Junior, ages 8-11) of our parent wellness series includes 6 boxes that focus on self-regulation, self-awareness, motivation, empathy and social skills. We also offer Counselor/Educator Bundles and a 6-week small group curriculum that can be used with individuals as well as small groups.
What makes your products and services unique vs. other offerings?
There are many parenting books and games that focus on teaching one skill, but we have not found a comprehensive product that teaches multiple EQ skills and encourages use by the entire family. We are the only company with research-based parent activity boxes that builds emotional intelligence in a fun and engaging way. Parents/guardians may not know how to teach these skills directly or may not feel comfortable having these conversations with their children. Therefore, we have included a step by step guide to walk parents through methods to discuss and implement the activities we have designed to increase the life skills necessary to improve mental health.
Please define “emotional quotient.” How is it different from emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence – or emotional quotient (EQ) – is defined as an individual’s ability to identify, evaluate, control and express emotions. Emotional intelligence allows one to manage their feelings so they can express them appropriately and effectively, enabling people to work together toward their common goals.
What role do you believe emotions play in a child's academic success and overall well-being?
To be successful at school, students have to use their “thinking brain” or prefrontal cortex. If they are upset by something, they will “flip their lid” and move into fight/flight/freeze mode which makes it difficult to concentrate or retain information. Knowing how to identify your emotions (self-awareness) and calm down (self-regulation) is necessary to be able to access the logical part of your brain to learn.
What are some of the most common emotional challenges you see in children? What are the best ways to address these challenges?
There are many challenges our children are facing today (social media, academic pressures, social isolation, etc). Regardless of the concern, the best place to start is naming and identifying your feelings. We cannot change what we are unaware of. It’s crucial to teach kids how to recognize what is happening in their bodies when they are starting to feel upset. Then we can teach them how to calm themselves down. After the logical part of the brain kicks back in, we can focus on problem solving. When we are calm, we can solve any problem.
How can children’s emotional development and progress be measured over time?
Our children’s brains are developing well into their 20's. Therefore, building emotional intelligence (EQ) should be viewed as a lifelong journey. It’s an opportunity to continue to learn about ourselves, make self-care a priority, set and achieve goals, as well as continuing to learn effective ways to self-regulate. There is not necessarily one tool that can help measure emotional development, but rather regular check-ins with our children and ourselves to assess the quality of our relationships with others can help us determine progress.
How do you handle situations where a child is resistant to learning or engaging in emotional intelligence activities?
Just like with any skill you want to teach, first it is important to build a good relationship with the child. Then introduce the topic in a fun and engaging way, which is why we have included games and activities in our boxes as play is one of the main ways in which children learn and develop.
What advice would you give to parents and caregivers on how to support their children's emotional growth? Where can they start?
The best place to start is with self-awareness and self-regulation. Teaching kids to identify their feelings is extremely powerful because it also demonstrates how their behaviors impact the outcome, positive or negative. Then teaching kids self-regulation, the ability to calm themselves down, gives them the opportunity to make a better choice, once their brain is thinking again. Parents are children’s first and greatest teachers, so it starts with us. Modeling the behavior we want to teach, talking about our own feelings and ways we calm down when upset, is a great place to start.
How can parents and caregivers create a safe and supportive environment for children to express their emotions freely?
First parents have to be okay with talking about feelings, even uncomfortable ones. Parents then should be talking about their own emotions and what they do to calm down. Next, they should give children the space to do the same, without judgment or commentary. Parents can add regular feeling check-ins to their family’s daily routines.
How can parents and caregivers involve the wider community in supporting their children's emotional development?
Parents can advocate for their children’s school to include social emotional learning into their daily routines, and request that their teachers, counselors, etc. communicate with parents the specific tools they use in their practice to build emotional intelligence so it can be reinforced at home.
What kind of impact do you hope to have on the broader field of child development?
Decades of research shows that children who develop EQ skills early make healthier decisions and have a greater chance of leading successful lives. Our hope is that more families will focus on explicitly teaching these skills and prioritize it in their daily routines.
What do you hope families will take away from your products and services, and how do you envision your work impacting their lives in the long term?
ParentingEQ’s mission is to build emotionally healthy kids and families. We know that learning EQ skills can help in many areas of school, on the sports field, and with getting along with others. In addition, people with high EQ usually make great leaders and team players because of their ability to understand, empathize and connect with the people around them, increasing their emotional wellness throughout their lives.
What types of partnerships or collaborations have you formed with other organizations or schools to support your mission?
We work with many school counselors in various districts who use our parent boxes in their parent education programs. The Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo awarded us a grant to purchase our Counselor/Educator bundles and small group curriculum for school counselors in one of our local districts. We also are on many vendors and curriculum lists for homeschool and charter schools, as parents purchase our 6 part wellness series as their social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum.
How do you measure the success of your program, and what outcomes do you hope to achieve for children?
We have created pre and post surveys to measure the impact of our Counselor/Educator Bundles and small group curriculum. Included in our parent instruction guides are takeaways, so parents can assess how their child is doing with a particular skill. We hope for outcomes that increase a family's positive environment, strengthen their connections, and give them concrete skills to address whatever situation they may encounter as they grow and transition to adulthood.
What are the biggest challenges you have faced so far in running this company, and how did you overcome them?
There have been many challenges in starting and running this company. Getting the word out to parents that this product exists and educating them on how ParentingEQ will help their child’s behaviors has been hard. We are overcoming all our obstacles by looking at them as lessons learned, and asking ourselves how this can make us better. Someone once gave us the advice that if something is not working, feel free to change it sooner rather than later. We try not to get too attached to an idea in case we need to adjust.
How do you integrate feedback from children, parents, and other stakeholders into your program design and implementation?
We love to hear from our families and customers, and we make changes to improve the products as needed.
How do you ensure that your program is culturally responsive and sensitive to the needs of diverse communities?
We source different books that include many diverse characters to relate to as many families as possible. We also have EQ Crew Members, who help teach the skills, and they represent different backgrounds and cultures.
How do you stay up to date with the latest research and trends in emotional intelligence education?
We love listening to various podcasts, reading parenting books, as well as attending numerous conferences to stay current.
How do you see the future of emotional intelligence education for children evolving in the next 5-10 years?
Frequently EQ skills are referred to as “soft skills” which may give the impression they are not crucial. The pandemic and the social emotional impact brought to light how important it is to directly teach these skills to kids. There are many children experiencing anxiety, depression, and struggling with their relationships. We believe that more and more families will start to integrate these life skills into their daily lives as they learn about how it can benefit their overall well-being.
A huge thank you goes out to Amy Sage and Roni Nocon for generously sharing their time and insights in answering these questions. I truly admire their mission and the exceptional products they have created. It's remarkable how they have harnessed their extensive knowledge and experience to create a product that positively impacts families far and wide.
I hope you've enjoyed reading this interview and are inspired to explore more by visiting their website and trying out their incredible products. Whether you prefer a subscription or purchasing individual boxes, their flexibility ensures a tailored experience for every parent.
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