Introduce new coping skills with this coping skill exploration activity.
Take a Moment:
A Coping Skill Exploration Activity
Help your child regulate their emotions using a variety of coping skills. This activity supports emotional awareness, self-regulation, and connection with others.
This resource is just a sneak peek! 🎉 It’s part of our full membership, where you’ll find even more monthly activities, a growing coping skills library, and resources to strengthen parent-child connection. If you love this, you’ll love what’s inside—come check it out! 💛
Materials Needed:
• 1 printed worksheet with spaces to identify core emotions, specific emotions, independent coping skill, and collaborative coping skill (printed)
• Emotion cards (color-coded)
• Coping skill cards (either pre-printed or written out)
Instructions:
1. Prepare the Materials:
• Print the worksheet/placemat that has designated areas for identifying core emotions, specific emotions, an independent coping skill, and a collaborative coping skill.
• Cut out and separate the 36 color-coded emotion cards and coping skill cards into two piles.
• The emotion cards represent different feelings and are color-coded into four core emotion categories:
• Yellow for Happiness
• Blue for Sadness
• Red for Anger
• Green for Fear
• The coping skill cards list different calming techniques that children can use independently (like deep breathing) or with the help of a parent or sibling (like a hug or talking to someone).
2. Introduce the Activity:
• Explain to your child that this activity will help them understand their feelings better and find ways to manage big emotions in a calm, helpful way.
• Show them the placemat and walk them through the four sections:
• Core Emotion: This is the broad category of emotion (Happiness, Sadness, Anger, or Fear).
• Specific Emotion: This is the specific emotion they are feeling (e.g., frustration, disappointment, fear).
• Independent Coping Skill: A skill they can do on their own to help them calm down (e.g., deep breathing, coloring, etc.).
• Collaborative Coping Skill: A skill that requires another person (e.g., talking to a parent, getting a hug, or playing together).
3. Pick an Emotion:
• Have your child choose an emotion card from the pile that they want to focus on. This can be a current emotion they are feeling, or you can encourage them to pick one they may have experienced recently.
• Once they pick a card, they will identify which core emotion category it belongs to (e.g., if they pick “frustration,” they will recognize it falls under “Anger,” which is color-coded red).
• Ask your child how they are feeling and why, encouraging them to reflect on the specific emotion. They can talk about a recent situation that caused that emotion (e.g., “I feel frustrated because I couldn’t finish my homework on time.”).
4. Choose Coping Skills:
• Once they have identified their emotion and the category, they will pick an independent coping skill from the coping skill cards.
• If they choose something like “volcano breaths,” guide them through the breathing technique (inhale deeply, then exhale slowly with a loud “whoosh,” imagining the volcano erupting).
• Encourage your child to try the coping skill and let them describe how it makes them feel. If they don’t like that skill, let them try another until they find one that works for them.
• Collaborative Coping Skill:
• After they have practiced their independent coping skill, it’s time to introduce the collaborative aspect. Ask your child to choose a collaborative coping skill (e.g., asking for a hug, talking to a parent about how they feel, or playing a calming game together).
• If your child chooses to talk to a parent, sit with them and listen actively. Use reflective listening (e.g., “I hear you’re feeling really frustrated about not finishing your homework. What could help you feel better?”).
• If the collaborative skill involves playing or physical interaction, like playing with a sibling, join in and encourage them to use this time to connect.
5. Reflect and Discuss:
• Once your child has selected and practiced both types of coping skills, encourage them to reflect on their experience. Ask them questions like:
• “How did that feel when you tried your volcano breaths?”
• “Did talking with me help you feel better? What part was the most helpful?”
• “What other ways could you handle frustration next time?”
• Reinforce that it’s okay to feel strong emotions, but it’s important to know what to do with them.
6. Repeat as Needed:
• Encourage your child to continue practicing these techniques whenever they’re feeling strong emotions. You can also revisit this activity anytime they are experiencing challenging feelings, to remind them of the coping skills that work best.
• You can make this activity a regular part of your emotional regulation routine—set aside time each week to revisit it and keep learning new coping strategies.
Adapt for Different Ages:
• If your child is younger, you might want to focus on a smaller selection of emotions and coping skills at first, gradually expanding as they grow more comfortable.
• Older children can create their own set of coping skills and even suggest new cards to add to the collection, fostering independence in their emotional regulation.
By practicing these emotional regulation strategies, your child will develop healthy habits that will serve them well in times of stress, frustration, or sadness.
Using both independent and collaborative coping strategies will also help them see that it’s okay to ask for support from others when they need it, and that managing emotions is a lifelong skill they can build.
This activity helps foster emotional awareness, regulation, and positive connections between parents and children. It provides children with tools they can use on their own and strategies that strengthen their relationship with family members as they work through emotions together.
