The Importance of Social-Emotional Health with Eddie Coker

It was over 15 years ago when I became an Eddie Coker groupie, seeing him perform at different venues in Dallas while dancing with Elizabeth and Catherine when they were three and five years old. Our whole family knew all the words to his songs, and I can still recite the lyrics to our family's favorite song, “The Happy One.”

Eddie and his team have developed The Wezmore Project. I have kept in contact with Eddie over the years and it’s interesting that he feels as strongly about the importance of social-emotional learning, as Early, Andy, and I do. Wezmore is a fabulous social-emotional curriculum that schools are putting into their curriculums to ensure the development of happy, healthy humans.

As always, Eddie entertained, educated, and excited us with his operatic voice and engaging style during our recent podcast episode. By highlighting that each child is good, loved, and special, Eddie’s humanistic approach reminds us that the foundation of our children’s success is in their ability to regulate emotions and to find love and joy in their relationships. I talk about a lot of different concepts in my office with families related to parenting and child mental health but feel that emotional regulation, love, and joy are foundational when it comes to developing a strong psychological core in children.

I’m excited to see The Wezmore Project in more and more schools so that young children, educators, and parents can benefit from the powerful learning modules. I know that we will continue to collaborate with Eddie and his team to raise awareness of the importance of social and emotional learning programs that begin in preschool and continue into middle school. These programs are an important part of the solution in reducing the alarmingly increasing rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide and improving overall mental health. Listen to Eddie and encourage your child’s school to invest in a strong social-emotional curriculum, such as the Wezmore Project.