The Mood Meter
Clever, visually appealing tool promotes self-awareness.
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The Mood Meter
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Mood Meter helps kids name, describe, and react to their emotions. Kids can use it to record their emotional states, comment on the situations that led to those feelings, and choose to "stay" and record that state or "shift" and view inspiring images, quotes, and tips that help them shift a negative mood in a positive direction. Within the "shift" section are several built-in images, quotes, and tips, and it's easy to import a photo or text. If kids use an email address to sign up for an account, their mood recordings end up in the app's reports section, where they can explore the different emotions they've posted over time. If kids invite others, or accept a friends' invitation, they can share their own mood meter or follow their friends' meters. Read the developer's privacy policy for details on how your (or your kids') information is collected, used, and shared and any choices you may have in the matter, and note that privacy policies and terms of service frequently change.
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What’s It About?
Use THE MOOD METER to name and track your moods. Tap "I feel" to generate a mood quadrant and answer the question "How are you feeling right now?" The quadrant is formed by two axes: high or low energy, and pleasant or unpleasant. Explore the appropriate quadrant to generate the word that best represents your current mood. For example, "at ease" is in the pleasant, low-energy quadrant. Choose your word to see a definition, mark your current activity (work, home/family, or other), and then enter any notes about what might be the cause of your emotion. Finally, the app asks if you want to stay in your chosen mood or shift it; if you choose "shift," the app generates some action ideas and an inspiring quote. If kids sign in with an account, they can track their moods over time. The "share" tab allows kids to follow their friends' moods and share up to 48 hours of their mood history with others.
Is It Any Good?
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.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way The Mood Meter's grid is set up. The emotions range from pleasant to unpleasant and low energy to high energy. How are these extremes different?
How do your feelings change over the course of a day? What kinds of situations make you feel different kinds of emotions?
The "shift" sections let you add your own pictures, quotes, and tips. Which words and images would you like to include to help you shift to more positive emotions?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
- Subjects: Language & Reading: vocabulary
- Skills: Self-Direction: identifying strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, self-assessment, self-reflection, Emotional Development: identifying emotions, labeling feelings, self-awareness, Health & Fitness: mental health
- Pricing structure: Paid ($0.99)
- Release date: January 23, 2020
- Category: Education
- Publisher: Emotionally Intelligent Schools LLC
- Version: 2.1.4
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 11.0 or later; Android 5.0 and up
- Last updated: October 12, 2020
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