With a constant push to promote SEL in schools, countless educators have spent time on researching and implementing new resources. Whether they're technology-based or not, SEL resources are invaluable to so many educators and students as they navigate post-pandemic learning. Among these classroom SEL tools is the Mightier SEL platform. With the Mightier video games and their effective content, children can learn to regulate emotions and why that's important. In this Rising Resources post, we'll explore this purposeful approach to reducing behavioral problems and why Mightier is valuable.
In terms of designing the overall Mightier platform, certified clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital and the Harvard Medical School collaborated. Mightier works well for any children who fall between six and 12 years old and helps them learn to identify why certain behaviors are harmful, how to avoid them, and how they should manage their feelings. Students can use Mightier in or out of the classroom and they typically show improvements within the first three months. And, because it's largely game-based, Mightier is more appealing to students and helps them improve various emotional and reactive behaviors.
Why emotional regulation is important for kids.
Children with different backgrounds and existing emotional stressors can face a lot of different challenges with learning. There's nothing to be ashamed about if this is the case but, at the same time, we also know that dysregulation can impede a child's ability to learn effectively. Using Mightier, their classroom teachers, resource specialists, or parents can help children understand why they might react in certain ways. Then, they can help steer them towards more effective alternatives for expressing their feelings. Whether kids are experiencing problems with tantrums, anger, aggressions, irritability, frustration, anxiety, or even ADHD and Autism, Mightier helps them refocus and progress in their development.
Oftentimes, kids can recognize when they are behaving poorly but cannot control their reactions. For other kids, they may not even realize that their actions are negatively impacting themselves or others. Emotional regulation is a very important factor in a child's overall social-emotional health and, understandably, when they're this young, they may not have any clue about how to regulate these feelings. With the Mightier SEL system, they can build stronger emotional habits and, over time, perfect simplistic and effective regulation strategies. All they have to do is work with a teacher or other licensed professional to get the Mightier app on an iOS, Android, or Amazon device. Check out the full list of Mightier device compatibility for more.
Getting started with the Mightier SEL games.
Once they've signed up for their Mightier membership, students can access the games. The Mightier team designed all these games with intent and to help children practice cooling down, calming down, and taking pauses. While the games are all digital, the other piece of the Mightier SEL system is the heart rate monitor, which students can wear around their wrist like a bracelet. Not only does it track their emotions, it displays them so kids can understand when they are getting too worked up or celebrate when they're in the proper range. Basically, as their heart rate goes up, the game becomes more difficult. This requires that students bring their heart rate down by pausing and, when they do so successfully, they earn rewards.
These games include various affirmations for kids as well and, with time, as they continue to play and work through their challenges, cool-down strategies start to become second nature for children. This continuous practice helps them become more capable of recognizing their emotions and working to eliminate potential outbursts. The Mightier team recommends that students should use their app just three times per week for only 15-20 minutes at a time—that's often all they need to begin seeing real improvements. Through these activities, children learn how to pause and take a breath before reacting negatively—a simple but powerful benefit of this unique, interactive version of digital therapy for children.
The Mightier SEL app and features.
As you may assume, you can use the Mightier app and games in classrooms, at home, or anywhere else. There are three different membership options and as many as six people can use one account. There's a monthly plan, a 6-month plan, and the annual plan with different costs and features. Each of the Mightier SEL memberships includes access to the Mightier app, a tablet, and the Heart Rate Monitor Kit. With the Mightier app, students can practice everything from positive self talk to exploring some creative emotion management activities. Its effective structure helps ensure they're engaging with the games and working on their development in real time.
Within the Mightier app, educators and parents can add goals for students, create a gameplay routine, and track their progress. There are plenty of tips, guidance, and insights for users as well. Support from clinical experts is also available directly within your app seven days a week. The truly interactive nature of Mightier is valuable, especially as children watch their heart rate fluctuate while playing games. Once they've made the connection between maintaining a steady heart rate and avoiding outbursts, they also tend to be more proactive about keeping this state of emotional balance. Plus, when children encounter more challenging elements within the Mightier SEL games, these on-screen prompts help them through with deep breathing exercises and the chance to practice coping skills.
Using games to help kids with regulation.
In terms of the games, they're very much like traditional video games and designed to be fun for students. They include racing games, problem-solving games, pattern recognition games, and more. There's a large variety in the game library, including short but engaging sessions to help kids develop emotional regulation strategies. Plus, each game includes specific elements and opportunities for them to work on all-important regulation skills. The Mightier activities help children improve in many SEL-related areas, including with fun ADHD activities for children and by highlighting beneficial anger management strategies. For these reasons (and many more), Mightier is a great tool for school counselors, behavior specialists, and interventionists.
If you think Mightier SEL could fit into your school or program, we recommend checking out their website and offerings. After you've done that, feel free to browse more content on social-emotional learning and how STEAM and SEL tie together. If you have questions about SEL in the classroom, please reach out to our team. Follow us on Twitter/X and Instagram for more.