Coping Skills for Kids: 50 Strategies That Actually Work (Free Printable List)

A coping skill is anything a child can do when a feeling gets too big to sit with. Not a lecture, not a breathing exercise they have heard forty times — an action, chosen by them, that reliably takes the edge off.

Below is a list of 50, grouped by what they actually do to the body and mind, plus how to turn the list into something a child will use: a coping skills toolbox, or a coping skills wheel they can spin. The whole list is free to print straight from this page.

Why a list on its own does not work

Most coping skills lists fail for the same reason: they are handed over during a meltdown. A dysregulated child cannot read fifty options and choose wisely — they cannot choose between two.

The list is for calm moments. You go through it together, the child picks the handful that appeal to them, and those go on the wall or in the box. Five chosen skills beat fifty suggested ones every time.

50 coping skills for kids

Move the energy out (10)

For anger, frustration and the fizzing, can’t-sit-still feeling. These burn off adrenaline that is already circulating.

• Push hard against a wall for ten seconds, three times
• Twenty star jumps
• Stamp your feet twenty times, counting out loud
• Run to the end of the garden and back
• Squeeze a cushion as hard as you can, then let go
• Tear up scrap paper kept just for this
• Carry something heavy across the room
• Animal walks — bear crawl, crab walk, frog jumps
• Dance to one loud song
• Wall sit for as long as you can

Slow the body down (10)

For anxiety, worry and panic. These work on the nervous system directly rather than through reasoning.

• Square breathing — in four, hold four, out four, hold four
• Trace a finger around your other hand, breathing in up, out down
• Blow bubbles, or blow a feather across a table
• Hold something cold until it turns warm
• Drink a glass of cold water slowly
• Press your palms together hard and release
• Lie down and put something heavy on your tummy
• Hum one long note
• Smell something strong — orange peel, mint, lavender
• Slow-motion movement — do everything at half speed for one minute

Get out of your head (10)

For spiralling thoughts and rumination. These interrupt the loop by demanding attention elsewhere.

• 5-4-3-2-1 — five things you see, four you hear, three you touch, two you smell, one you taste
• Count backwards from 100 in sevens
• Name every animal you can think of beginning with B
• Describe the room out loud as if to someone on the phone
• Find five blue things
• Say the alphabet backwards
• Spell your full name, then spell it backwards
• Name every country you can think of
• Do a wordsearch or a maze
• Sort something — cards, Lego by colour, coins

Let it out (10)

For sadness, loneliness and feelings that need expressing rather than dampening.

• Draw exactly how you feel, no words needed
• Write it down, then tear it up if you want to
• Tell someone one true sentence about how you feel
• Scribble hard on paper until you have had enough
• Make up a story where the character feels the same way
• Sing loudly
• Cry, without anyone telling you to stop
• Write a letter you will never send
• Talk to a pet
• Record a voice note to yourself

Feel safe again (10)

For after the storm, when the feeling has passed but the body has not caught up.

• Wrap up in a blanket
• Go to your calm down corner
• Hold a soft toy or something that smells like home
• Ask for a hug — or ask for space, whichever is true
• Have a warm drink
• Look at photos of people you love
• Read something familiar you have read before
• Put on the same song you always put on
• Sit somewhere small — under a table, in a den
• Do something with your hands — playdough, slime, knitting

How to build a coping skills toolbox

A coping skills toolbox is a physical box holding the objects a child needs for their chosen skills. It works because it removes the decision: the box is the plan.

• Pick a box the child chooses and decorates themselves — ownership matters more than it sounds
• Go through the fifty above together and let them pick five to eight
• Put in one object per skill: the stress ball, the bubbles, the wordsearch, the cold pack, the playdough
• Add a card listing their chosen skills, in their own handwriting where possible
• Keep it where the difficult moments happen — usually the kitchen or hallway, not a quiet bedroom

Review it every couple of months. Skills stop working, interests change, and a toolbox nobody has opened since March is just a box.

How to make a coping skills wheel

A coping skills wheel is the same idea for children who freeze when asked to choose. You draw a circle, divide it into six segments, write one chosen skill in each, and add a spinner (a paperclip and a pencil works).

The child spins and does whatever it lands on. The randomness is the point — it converts a decision into a game, and games get played when instructions get ignored. If they spin again because they did not like the first one, that is fine; they have still engaged.

Which skills suit which age

• Ages 4–6 — movement and sensory only. Bubbles, animal walks, squeezing, blankets. Skip anything requiring reflection.
• Ages 7–9 — add the distraction skills. Counting games, 5-4-3-2-1, sorting. A wheel works well here.
• Ages 10–12 — add expression. Writing, drawing, talking to one trusted person. A toolbox they own privately.
• Teens — drop the word “coping skills” entirely. Call it what it is: things that help. Anything that looks like a primary-school worksheet gets rejected on sight.

Three mistakes worth avoiding

• Introducing the list mid-meltdown. It reads as criticism. Introduce it on a calm Sunday.
• Choosing for them. A skill an adult picked is a skill that gets refused. Offer the list, let them choose.
• Expecting consistency. A skill that worked brilliantly last week may do nothing today. That is normal, not failure.

Related resources

Coping skills work best alongside a way of naming the feeling in the first place. Our guide to feelings charts for kids covers that, and the calm down corner guide covers where to keep the toolbox. For anger specifically, see anger management activities for kids.

If you would rather not build everything from scratch, our printable resources cover the same ground ready-made — the DBT worksheets and anxiety journal bundle for older children and adults, and the 5 Point Superhero Scale for rating how big a feeling is before choosing a skill.

Frequently asked questions

How many coping skills should a child have?

Five to eight that they chose themselves. More than that and the choosing becomes the obstacle.

What if none of them work?

Usually the timing is wrong rather than the skill. Most coping skills only work in the build-up, not at the peak. Once a child is fully overwhelmed, the job is safety and waiting, not technique.

Can I print this list?

Yes. Print this page directly — it is laid out to print cleanly on A4 or US Letter. Use it with as many children as you work with.

When should I get professional support?

If distress is frequent, intense, lasting a long time, or affecting school, sleep, eating or friendships, speak to your GP or your school’s SENCO. Coping skills are a useful tool. They are not an assessment and do not replace one.

Printable tools to practise coping skills

Want a low-pressure way to practise these ideas together? The Coping Skills Bingo printable turns the list into a simple family or classroom activity, and the Feelings Wheel Printable Pack helps children choose words for what they are experiencing.