A Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) framework was used in this study to gather and analyze the perceptions of mothers involved in a critical family literacy program designed to foster social and emotional development. Through narrative inquiry, participants discussed perceptions of their children's social-emotional development and the expanded use of existing parenting tools. Even though parents are primary agents of change, the cultural backgrounds of families has too often been a missing ingredient in both the curriculum development and participation phases of and social and emotional learning within school-based programs. Family engagement programs are particularly important for Latino parents who are recent immigrants, as they have the additional burden of contending with such stressors in school settings as race, language barriers, and stereotypes afflicting educators. All participants in this study had existing knowledge in the area of emotional development and were able to discuss the value of self-care and self-regulation with respect to parenting their children. This research contributes to studies in the fields of family engagement and popular education pedagogy besides providing the reader with an examination of the implications of effective socio-emotional curriculum in elementary school settings.