This section of the Greater Good Science Center website helps busy parents raise happy and emotionally literate kids.
Emotional literacy—the ability to recognize and respond constructively to our own emotions and those of others—is one of the most important keys to well-being. Social and emotional intelligence is first developed in infancy through interactions with parents and key caregivers; in childhood and adolescence, emotional literacy fosters resilience and helps close academic achievement gaps, promoting gains in nearly every area of children’s lives, including their happiness. By giving parents the tools they need to raise socially and emotionally intelligent children, we can help inoculate children against depression and isolation.
Many of the topics we’ll cover won’t be about teaching kids about specific emotions or emotional literacy directly. For example, we’ll talk about why research shows that family mealtimes are important, and how you can habitually cultivate some of the positive emotions that make for a happy life during family meals.
Look closely and you’ll notice buttons and links throughout that give you access to further content. For example, “Try This at Home” brings you to a printable page with helpful reminders and topics for family discussions or activities. “Read this” links to books, both for adults and children, related to the discussion topic. We want to know what you think, so please be sure to post your comments, stories, and suggestions on our blog for us and for other parents.
One day last fall, a newspaper columnist was watching her daughter rub her palms raw on the monkey bars while pondering what makes for a happy childhood—when she bumped into a sociologist who was doing the very same thing. That is, watching her daughter rub her palms raw while thinking about raising happy kids. While the columnist had been relying mostly on anecdotal evidence to support her theories, the sociologist had been waking up in the wee hours of the morning to read through research, inclined, as academics are, to pin her theories to studies and statistics. The writer ran an idea past the researcher and a conversation started that is still going strong. Kelly Corrigan and Christine Carter (the sociologist) decided to call their "blogversations" Half Full: Science for Raising Happy Kids because the research has led them to believe that the glass really is half full for parents. Carter has now convinced an originally skeptical Corrigan that happiness is a skill that we can teach children. Both women see this as great cause for optimism.
We feel great gratitude for all of the people who volunteered their time and talents to launch this website. Many thanks to:
Kelly Corrigan, author of
The Middle Place
Kristen Malan from Kristen Malan Design
Dan Moulthrop, of
90.3 WCPN ideastream in Cleveland, Ohio
Special acknowledgement and gratitude also goes to the following folks who made this project happen, within our limited budget, through hard work and sheer force of will (and who probably ended up donating many hours of their time and talent in addition):
Nan Davenport, web designer and illustrator
Dave Nold, web developer
Karen Gainer, producer
