Everyone knows what it’s like to have big feelings that are hard to handle. Without coping strategies, it would be hard for many people to function. Teaching coping strategies for kids and teens enables them to manage their emotions, build resilience, and navigate challenges now and as they grow.
FREE MINI-POSTERS
Free Coping Strategies for Kids Posters
Get a set of free printable mini-posters with coping strategies for preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school, plus easy ideas for any age!
What are coping strategies?
When we’re anxious, worried, scared, or even very excited, we may not know how to control our emotions and act in healthy ways. This can lead to unhealthy behaviors like stress eating, lashing out, bullying, and even self-harm. Coping strategies redirect those feelings in more positive ways.
Emotional regulation is the ability to manage your emotions by monitoring, evaluating, and modifying your emotional reactions—your behavior—in ways that are constructive and adaptive. Kids must learn to recognize their emotions (which might not always be intuitive), then find strategies for coping with them.
When we help kids and teens learn positive emotional regulation coping strategies, they can channel their big feelings into constructive behaviors instead. Start by teaching about the Zones of Regulation. Then, share these coping strategies for kids and teens so they can choose the activities that work best for them.
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Calming Coping Strategies for Kids and Teens
When you’re stressed, angry, or even overly excited, it can be hard to find your inner peace. Your mind races, your breathing speeds up, you feel jumpy, and it’s hard to sit still. Even as adults, these physical feelings are uncomfortable, but for many kids, they can be completely overwhelming. That’s why these calming strategies are so important for them to learn, starting from a very young age. Over time, they can learn to make these strategies an automatic response to difficult emotions.
Preschool Calming Strategies
- Smell the Flower, Blow Out the Candle: This introduction to deep breathing is easy for little ones to understand, and miming these actions will help soothe them. Imagine breathing in through your nose as you smell a flower, then out through your mouth as you blow out a candle.
- Finger Touch: Use the pointer finger of your right hand hand to slowly touch the tips of each finger on your left hand, counting 1-2-3-4-5. Switch to your middle finger, followed by the other fingers in turn. Then switch hands.
- Sunrise, Sunset: Lie on your back and place your hands on your belly. As you breath in and feel your belly rise, imagine the sun rising. As you breathe out and your belly sinks, imagine the sun setting.
Elementary Calming Strategies
- Blow Up the Balloon: Imagine that you’re blowing up a balloon with every breath you take. Breathe in through your nose, then blow out like you’re breaking into a balloon. Picture the balloon inflating as you breathe.
- Count Down From 100: Close your eyes and begin slowly counting backward, starting with 100. Say each number slowly and clearly. If you can’t speak out loud, mouth the words instead.
- Raisin Meditation: Enjoy a handful of raisins one at a time. Look closely at each one, smelling and squeezing it. Chew it slowly, and count to 20 after swallowing before eating the next.
Middle School Calming Strategies
- Box Breathing (4-4-4-4): Breathe in through your nose for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of four, breathe out through your mouth for a count of four, rest for a count of four. Repeat as needed.
- 5-4-3-2-1: Name five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.
- Thought Clouds: Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Let your mind wander. As each thought comes into your mind, imagine it appearing on a cloud and floating away.
High School Calming Strategies
- 4-7-8 Breathing: Breathe in for a count of four, hold your breath for a count of seven, breathe out for a count of eight. Repeat as needed.
- Positive Affirmations: Choose a few affirmations you really like and memorize them. Recite them to yourself regularly or in times of stress. Try these affirmations.
- Guided Meditation: Use an app like Headspace or Calm to follow a guided meditation session.
Physical Coping Strategies for Kids and Teens
Movement can be an amazing way to work off stress and anxiety at any age. In fact, kids sometimes seem to know this instinctively: When they get overly emotional, it’s hard for them to sit still! Encourage that urge, but make sure it’s channeled into constructive movements rather than destructive actions.
Preschool Physical Coping Strategies
- Hug a Stuffed Animal: Giving a stuffie a good hard squeeze can work off feelings without causing anyone any discomfort. Stroking the fur can be soothing too.
- Sensory Bin: Dig into sand, run your fingers through water, or enjoy the various textures of a variety of items. (Find sensory bin ideas here.)
- Animal Walks: How does an elephant move? What about a monkey? Burn off extra energy or brighten your spirits by imitating a variety of animals in turn!
Elementary Physical Coping Strategies
Middle School Physical Coping Strategies
- Tense and Relax: Close your eyes and tense your entire body as hard as you can. Count to 10, then release all at once, feeling the stress drain away.
- Dance Party: Turn on some music and let your body move any way you like!
- Fidget Gadgets: Choose a gadget that soothes you—here are some easy ones you can make yourself.
High School Physical Coping Strategies
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation: In this exercise, you tense, hold, and relax one part of your body at a time, starting with your feet, then your calves, then your thighs, etc. Find a guided video or audio recording to walk you through the first few times.
- Yoga or Fitness Routine: Yoga has long been known to be a calming activity, but other exercise can help too. Go for a run, shoot some hoops, kick a ball around … whatever evens out your mood.
- Touch Grass: This has become a saying for a reason! Getting out into nature has proven benefits for improving your mood and lowering your stress. Take a nature walk, or just kick off your shoes, lie back in the grass, and watch the clouds go by.
Social Coping Strategies for Kids and Teens
One incredibly important point to make sure kids understand is that they don’t need to go through difficult times alone! Guide them toward social activities that offer support from their peers and caring adults, and provide constructive opportunities to be a meaningful part of a wider community.
Preschool Social Coping Strategies
- Buddy Breathing: Sit side-by-side with a friend. Place your hands on your own belly, and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth together.
- Hold Hands: This simple action can provide a huge amount of comfort. Little ones do this very naturally, so encourage them to keep up the behavior as they get older.
- Use Your Words: We say this frequently to young children, because it really does help. When they slow down and put their frantic thoughts and feelings into words, they’ve already begun to calm down.
Elementary School Social Coping Strategies
- Safe Person: Everyone should be able to identify at least one trusted person they can talk to when they feel scared, anxious, or alone—preferably an adult or someone older.
- “I” Statements: Put your feelings into words using “I” statements. “I feel scared about moving away,” for example. Or “I don’t want to go to school because I’m worried about my science test.”
- Share Gratitude: Feeling and expressing gratitude can have a big impact on mood. Tell others what you’re thankful for, especially if you’re grateful for them!
Middle School Social Coping Strategies
- Support Squad: Picking supportive friends can be a challenge, but when you surround yourself with a strong group, you’ll always have someone to turn to.
- Ask for Help: It’s OK to say you need some help! Reach out and ask for exactly what you need, and don’t feel ashamed or weak when you do.
- Role-Playing: Feeling uncertain about dealing with a situation? Role-play it in advance—ask a friend or adult for help, or simply speak to yourself in a mirror.
High School Social Coping Strategies
- Counseling: When the stress or anxiety is just too much, having an impartial outside source to talk it out with is incredibly important. Seek out a school counselor or trusted adult for help.
- Clubs or Sports: Find others who share your interests—spend time doing things you enjoy with others who love them too!
- Healthy Boundaries: Learn to say no without feeling guilty, and get comfortable sharing your feelings with others. Know that it’s OK to walk away or even end a friendship when someone doesn’t respect you.
Creative Coping Strategies for Kids and Teens
Having a creative outlet is vital for many people. Expressing yourself through art, crafts, music, writing, or performing gives you a way to put your emotions into something concrete, rather than bottling them up inside. Remember that being creative is less about what you create and more about the act of creating itself!
Preschool Creative Coping Strategies
- Finger Painting: Smear colorful paints on paper, or spread shaving cream on a desk and draw using your fingers.
- Dance Your Feelings: Turn on the music and let yourself go!
- Tell a Story: Make up a story or tell about something that happened to you. You can use puppets or stuffed animals as the characters or act it out yourself.
Elementary Creative Coping Strategies
- Build With LEGO: There’s something about the satisfying snap of those plastic bricks fitting together that soothes you, even while you’re creating something new and amazing.
- Emotion Collage: Cut out photos and words from magazines to describe how you’re feeling, then use them to create a collage.
- Sock Puppet Skit: Act out your worries or excitement with simple DIY puppets.
Middle School Creative Coping Strategies
- Worry Journal: Write out what worries you, scares you, annoys you, or excites you. Try using different colors to record the various emotions for a bigger picture of your overall moods.
- Mood Playlists: Create playlists for when you’re sad, tired, angry, or happy. These songs might help you change your mood, or simply support you as you feel all your feelings.
- Zentangles: This simple method of sketching shapes and then filling them in with intricate patterns is actually a form of meditation. Learn how it works here.
High School Creative Coping Strategies
- Origami: Folding paper into intricate shapes takes patience and concentration, and it can feel very calming and meditative.
- Blackout Poetry: Block out all the words on a page except those that express your emotions as you create these simple poems. Here’s more on blackout poetry to get you started.
- Drawing/Photography: Try to capture images that match how you’re feeling, then share them with others instead of trying to put things into words.
Easy Coping Strategies for Kids and Teens
These activities can work for pretty much any age, and they’re all easy to do. Give them a try anytime!
- Do a puzzle
- Blow bubbles
- Take a shower
- Eat a healthy snack
- Drink some water
- Take a nap
- Color in a coloring book
- Call or text a friend
- Watch the sunrise or sunset
- Cook or bake something
- Write a story
- Compose a poem
- Reread a favorite story
- Walk the dog or play fetch
- Pet or snuggle with your cat
- Look at old photos
- Reframe your thinking
- Go for a bike ride
- Play a board game
- Take a bubble bath
- Imagine your “happy place”
- Read a book out loud
- Write a letter
- Sculpt clay or play dough
- Shake a calm-down jar
- Make a vision board
- Play an instrument
- Take a martial arts class
- Ask for space
- Do something kind
- Give a compliment
- Climb a tree
- Feed the birds
- Use a weighted blanket
- Lift weights
- Chant a mantra
- Count your breaths
- Work in the garden
- Clean your room
- Set small goals
- Use a habit tracker
- Find a quiet place
- Rub your temples
- Knit or crochet
- Have a good cry
- Organize your backpack
- Watch or read something funny
- Go someplace new
- Plan a dream trip
- Use positive self-talk
- Shred a piece of paper
- Move in slow motion
Don’t forget to download your free mini-posters of coping strategies for kids and teens!
