Parents' Guide to The Mood Meter

Kids explore their own emotional triggers in a visually appealing, engaging tool for tracking emotions. The Mood Meter was built by prominent researchers on emotional intelligence, and each simple feature is clearly included to maximize the user's self-reflection and assessment. Exploring the grid of words is surprisingly fun as dots expand and contract with a tap. Even the visual metaphor alone is interesting, since you can learn something from the spectrum of words and how they relate to one another. And the definitions help kids expand their vocabulary as well as determine if they've picked the right description for their mood. Unfortunately, some of the built-in quotes and strategies are a little basic, so kids may want to supplement with their own ideas.

The emotion history section is similarly clever. Sorting responses by date and color gives a nuanced look at the user's emotions under different conditions and over time. The Mood Meter can stand on its own as a simple exercise in self-reflection, but it could be even more powerful with guidance from a professional who could help fill kids' toolboxes with high-quality, highly personalized coping strategies as well as comforting words and images.