Increasing Emotional Intelligence with the RainbowSmart App | AD

*This is a collaborative guest post from Liam Govey at 1decision

At 1decision, we’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished since our foundation in 2011, but we always look to take the extra step to go even further. With the launch of our new RainbowSmart App, we feel that we have done just that.

The app takes elements of our Early Years curriculum from the classroom to the living room for parents and carers to use with their children. Aimed at ages 3-7, the landing page of the app has four portals: animations, read-to-me storybooks, mindfulness videos, and flashcards.

Firstly, we come to the storybooks, which contain our wonderful Rainbow Drop characters. This section places the Rainbow Drops in relatable situations for young learners, teaching them that any barriers that they face in the early stages of their development can be overcome. Situations may include feeling down (‘Pink is Feeling Sad’), dealing with grief (‘Purple’s Pet Bird’), staying in hospital (‘Green Stays in Hospital’), and so much more in between.

Other stories break down barriers of discrimination, such as ‘Yellow Wants to Play with Orange’. This story quashes the stigma around race and ethnicity, teaching children to celebrate rather than fear our differences. Then we have ‘Why Does Purple Play Differently?’ which looks to end the stigma around autism. At 1decision, we are committed to removing stigmas around all manner of things.

Our animations are essentially a different way in which to view the storybooks, meaning we cater to any style of learning. We recognise that different children have different attention spans, and we’re keen to show that screen time doesn’t have to be a bad thing for children. The aim of the app is to increase emotional intelligence and empathy in children, standing them in good stead when it comes to their long-term development.

Then we come to our mindfulness portal which helps encourage positive mental health alongside the aforementioned emotional intelligence and empathy. The importance of keeping one’s mind healthy cannot be overstated, with mental health just as crucial as physical health. In the spirit of breaking down barriers, our vocabulary flashcards also help with those linguistic challenges. 

At 1decision, we believe in prevention rather than a cure. By this, we mean ensuring that children begin to develop a moral sense of right and wrong at the earliest possible stage. In doing so, we look to help prevent certain societal issues at the root rather than dealing with them after they occur. A great deal of our societal failures – substance abuse, knife crime, sexual abuse, racism – stem from overlooking this notion of prevention at the earliest stage.

With a lot of studies showing that young children are better equipped to learn languages than adults due to a wider capacity for learning, the likelihood is that the same can be said for morals and ethics. With the launch of the new 1decision RainbowSmart app, we look to help with providing this firm basis for later life. To download the RainbowSmart app, you can visit the App Store or Google Play here.