COLUMBUS, Ohio — How are you feeling? That can be a loaded question, especially for children, but one Ohio woman took it upon herself to find a way to get kids talking through a fun icebreaker.
What You Need To Know
- Somocom Lab is a business designed to help parents and kids improve their emotional intelligence and help communicate and connect more effectively
- The business also created a new card game called "EQ Kids Crew"
- The game teaches children valuable life lessons, and why expressing themselves is so important
Chelsea Elliott is the founder and creator of Somocom Lab—"So-Mo-Com’' is short for: social, emotional, communication.
Elliott explained Somocom Lab serves, “parents, educators, kids and the workforce to help people improve their emotional intelligence and increase their ability to communicate and connect more effectively."
Elliott’s business led her to create a card game called "EQ Kids Crew," but it’s so much more than it sounds.
The game helps parents communicate with their kids in more ways than one.
“Once the cards are set out, you can spin the spinning wheel,” Elliott explains. “It lands on an emotion. So, this one landed on disgusted, and kids can learn about what that word means. They can act it out. They can role play because kids love role-playing, or they can talk it out.”
The game is simple but teaches valuable life lessons, and why expressing themselves is important.
“Kids learn what you teach them,” Elliot said, “and it’s important for them to know this stuff as early as possible so the healthy coping mechanisms become their default instead of the kicking, screaming, throwing, fighting, punching, kicking, cussing people out, screaming, shouting, you know, all the things that we don’t like for them to do. They can be prevented by giving them the tools and resources to understand what’s going on with them.”
Elliott often plays the game with her little ones, and they’re big fans.
“It’s fun because it teaches me how to control my feelings,” said Chelsea’s daughter Natalie.
Sounds like it’s making a difference for families, just like Elliott’s.
“So, being able to, you know, have families come back and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, we were able to finally talk’. That is why I’m still here,” Elliot said, “Like that is everything to me. Literally everything. The impact is beyond anything I could have ever imagined.”
The game can be purchased here. The game also comes with a list of coping mechanisms for your kids.