50 Coping skills for kids (that help)

This blogspot will be based on the 50 effective coping strategies that can be used by kids to overcome stressors and calm down. Kids can learn to manage their anxiety through these coping mechanisms. The blogspot will enlist the 50 various coping skills for the kids and mention their effective utilization.

What are the 50 coping skills for kids?

Following are the 50 coping skills for kids:

• Exercise as a coping skill for kids

The kids should jump, walk, hop or run around to channelize their negative energies and overcome their stressors.

• Coloring  as a coping skill for kids

The kids should use colors as an effective coping strategy. They can color and paint their feelings about any unpleasant event or any anxiety producing situation.

• Breathing as a coping skill for kids

Kids can adopt breathing exercises to vent out their negative feelings and inner build of frustrations. Breathing in and breathing out helps to calm down kids.

• Bubble making as a coping skill for kids

the bubble making exercise for coping in kids is used for distracting the kids attention from the source of the problem. Children enjoy the bubble making coping strategy as they blow inside the cup and the bubbles pop out of the straw.

• Story writing as a coping skill for kids

the story writing exercise for coping among the kids is used to let the children describe their experiences in the form of a story. They kids describe what they hated about the event and how they would like the scenario to change for better.

• Scribbling as a coping skill for kids

The coping activity of scribbling on a piece of paper is used with kids to let them do catharsis. The kids scribble on paper or a large white sheet with color crayons. The color scribbling helps kids vent out their unpleasant experiences.

• Drawing as a coping skill for kids

Drawing helps the kids to draw their negative experiences and the unpleasant events. The kids are able to channelize their negative and unaddressed emotions through drawing it out on a piece of a paper.

• Sand Play as a coping skill for kids

The sand play coping strategy has the ability to relax the kids. Through sandplay the tactile senses of the child give a soothing effect and the kid is better able to get distracted from their stressing situation. 

• Punching Bag activity as a coping skill for kids

The punching bag activity is mostly used with kids for venting out their aggression. Kids with a tendency to be physically aggressive are the most suited  for this activity. The bag punching tends to take out the negative energy from the hands of the kids and their arms and hands feel relaxed. 

• Pillow Fight as a coping skill for kids

The pillow fight is a fun coping strategy. It involves fighting with light weighted pillows for getting distracted from or overcoming their negative feelings of fear, anxiety or insecurities.

• Counting till 10 as a coping skill for kids

The count till 10 activity is generally used with kids as a quick coping technique. The kids count till 10 or till another number to get themselves at ease for a while. For example before getting an injection or a corona test the kids count till 10 to overcome their anxiety.

• Sing a song as a coping skill for kids

The sing a song coping strategy helps the kids to sing a song or a rhyme that describes well their situation. This is a way to relate the kid’s underlying feelings and the unaddressed issues.

• Take a time out as a coping skill for kids

The  take a timeout coping strategy for kids helps them to relax themselves after being distressed by taking a time out and doing their favourite activity. 

• Smell your favourite thing as a coping skill for kids

The smell your favourite coping strategy involves the sense of smells. It helps kids to relax themselves and overcome their emotional anxiety. 

• Touch your favourite thing as a coping skill for kids

The touch your favourite thing coping strategy involves the sense of touch of the kids. The kids get relaxed by touching their favourite surface. For example some kids like walking barefoot on the ground, others like to dig in sand with their hands, some kids like touching stuffed toys and some of the kids like touching shiny surfaces.

• Eat your favourite thing as a coping skill for kids

The eat your favourite thing coping strategy is used in kids to distract them from a distressed situation by involving the sense of taste. Kids are made to eat their favourite things to ease their emotional or physical pain.

• See your favourite movie as a coping skill for kids

Seeing your favourite movie or cartoon is a coping strategy that is used for kids to relax them by getting their visual sense and audio sense involved. The kids see their favourite cartoons or movie or any other program to feel relaxed and minimize their distress.

• Listen to your favourite song as a coping skill for kids

The listening to your favorite song coping strategy with kids lets kids listen to audio or video songs and get attuned to some pleasant feelings. This coping mechanism helps the kids to rid off their unpleasant feelings.

• Dance till you drop as a coping skill for kids

The dance till you drop or dance till you can is a coping strategy that is utilized to get the kids physically active. They dance as if nobody is watching them and keep dancing till they get tired. This way their negative emotions and opinions are shifted to a positive and pleasant experience.

• Diary writing as a coping skill for kids

Dairy writing involves the kids to cope through writing in a diary about their feelings and their unpleasant and overwhelming experiences. Writing helps kids to manage their negative feelings.

• A letter to God as a coping skill for kids

Writing a letter to God is used as a coping strategy for managing negative feelings and stressful emotions among kids. The kids write their true feelings and experiences without the fear of being judged in a letter to god and thus are able to have an outlet for their inner feelings.

• Tell fairy Godmother about it as a coping skill for kids

Kids have a strong faith in their fairy godmother.  Telling them to write it all or say it all to their fairy godmother before sleeping eases their unfinished businesses in life. For example a kid can tell the fairy godmother about a fight during lunch break at school. This way they can vent out the negative feelings before sleeping and sound.

• Blow it in a balloon and let it go to sky as a coping skill for kids

The blow it in a balloon and let it go, a coping strategy lets kids learn forgiving others. The lids blow their negative experiences with teachers, siblings or any other significant relation into the balloon and leave the balloon to go away from them carrying all the negative feelings away.

• Go for cycling as a coping skill for kids

 When kids feel stressed out it is always a good strategy to let them do cycling in fresh air or take swings in fresh air.

• Go camping in your room  as a coping skill for kids

The kids can take a timeout from everything in the form of camping in a lounge or in their own room. They can set up a camp using old bed sheets and pillows. Being inside the camp with their favourite toys, books and things to eat, eases their anxiety and other unpleasant experiences.

• Try to make as many words as you can with each letter of your name as a coping skill for kids

This coping strategy for kids enables the kids to get distracted and focus more on coping strategies forming the various words that they can make from the letters of their own name. This strategy can be used with kids while they are on their way to the exam center or while they are going for any medical procedure. It enables them to distract them and shifts their focus.

• Watch your toddler videos and pictures as a coping skill for kids

The strategy of watching videos and photos of themselves  when the kids were young enables the kids to forget the stressful events that bother them and live their past memories that were enjoyable for them.

• Make funny faces on eggs as a coping skill for kids

Drawing the way a kid has been feeling on the egg shell is another great coping strategy for kids. This helps the kids to portray their inner feelings on the eggs in a fun way.

• Play with a pet as a coping skill for kids

Playing with the pets and cuddling your pet dog or any other animal is another great activity for kids that enables them to soothe and relax without saying much about the unpleasant experience.

• Water your plants as a coping skill for kids

The plants watering activity is used by kids to get close to nature, get relaxed by being involved with the plant watering activity and get distracted from the source of distress.

• Rip the old news papers as small as you can as a coping skill for kids

Ripping off a newspaper is a good coping strategy for kids. Kids are often unable to communicate their anger effectively. In such cases, telling them to rip off old newspapers helps them vent their inner anger.

• Arrange your books as a coping skill for kids

Arranging and organizing books is a coping strategy that helps the kids to overcome their negative energies by changing them into energies necessary for organizing the books.

• Cook a no flame recipe or cook with an adult as a coping skill for kids

The kids can get involved in the kitchen with adults as a coping strategy to get rid of any negative emotions. They can make spread sandwiches or 2-minute quick noodles with the help of adults. Mixing, cutting, cooking and cleaning distract the kids from the frustrations they might have from unpleasant experiences.

• Make a do it yourself stress ball as a coping skill for kids

The kids can use readymade stress balls or use the balloons to make a do it yourself stress ball for releasing the underlying negative feelings. The lids can add glue, glitter, confetti and lights to their stress balls.

• Wash your stuff toys as a coping skill for kids

Cleaning has always proved to be a great coping strategy. Washing toys and caring for their cleanliness is another great coping skill for kids.

• Build your blocks as a coping skill for kids

Building towers from favourite colored blocks enables kids to distract their mind from the stressful event and get mentaly and physically involved in making towers out of blocks.

• Play jenga as a coping skill for kids

Playing jenga requires a lot of mental concentration. Jenga in itself is a great coping strategy for kids to remain distracted from the negative and unpleasant experiences and the frustrations they feel due to such experiences.

• Organize your story books and toys as a coping skill for kids

Organizing and arranging books and toys is another coping strategy for kids. Kids utilize their energies in positive activities and thus are free from acting out on any negative frustrations that they might be going through.

• Clean all your shoes as a coping skill for kids

One very effective strategy for coping among kids is cleaning all their shoes as they were bought from the store all new. Kids use cleaning brush and cloth to wipe off the dust and any other stains. Cleaning activities are good for the kids as they make them physically active and they are better able to overcome the negative emotions in them.

• “Talk to your family about it” as a coping skill for kids

Kids often feel relaxed as they talk to their significant others about their negative emotions. Talking to mother or father or any of the siblings about the negative incident often decreases the intensity of that unpleasant feeling associated with that negative event.

• Scream out your anger into a pillow as a coping skill for kids 

Screaming out into the pillow eases the kid from their negative emotional states as they scream into the pillow instead of screaming in front of other people. Through this strategy, the kids can vent out their negative feelings related to an unpleasant event by screaming into the pillow.

• Close your eyes and visit your favourite place in imagination as a coping skill for kids

This is another relaxation coping skill for kids. The kids are instructed to close their eyes and imagine themselves in the wonderland or chocolate factory or any other pleasant place. They are then instructed to focus on their positive feelings.

• Give yourself a sweet treat as a coping skill for kids

The kids are given a sweet treat to ease their negative feelings and negative emotions. The sweet treat could be a spoonful of nutella, a candy, a spoonful of honey, an extra bite of their favourite chocolate or a piece of cake.

• Make a gratitude journal as a coping skill for kids

The kids can be encouraged to use gratitude journals as a coping skill. In this way they would be focusing on the positive events on a daily basis instead of focusing more on negative incidents.

• Play outside with friends as a coping skill for kids

Children often feel better as they go and play outside with their friends. The positive energies from other kids get transferred to them. Hence playing with age mates in the ground or park is a great coping strategy for kids.

• Tell yourself that you are a superhero  as a coping skill for kids

The kids can assume themselves to be a superhero and consider themselves as a superhero dealing with life problems. This coping strategy helps the kids learn to focus on the strengths of super heroes that they feel are present in them as well.

• Drink your favourite hot drink or a cold juice as a coping skill for kids

Drinking a hot chocolate drink or a cold fresh juice is also an effective coping strategy for kids.Kids are able to distract themselves and the negative feelings are displaced by the positive aroma of the drink and its pleasant taste.

• Call your childhood friend  as a coping skill for kids

Every kid has a childhood best friend whom he can talk to for hours. Talking to a childhood friend is an effective coping skill for kids as they are better able to share their feelings with someone of their own age and mental level. 

• Clean and organize your cupboards as a coping skill for kids

Cleaning and organizing cupboards or cabinets also gets the kid involved into the activity. They forget the distressing event and utilize their energies to clean and arrange the stuff in a better way. Thus the kids are better able to cope with their feelings of experiencing unpleasant effects.

• Read a book as a coping skill for kids

Reading has always proven to be a great coping skill for kids. Kids can read their favourite fictional or informative story book. They can also read books about morals and values in the form of short stories. 

Conclusion

The blogspot was based on enlisting the various coping strategies for kids. We learned 50 effective coping skills that can be used with kids to ease their emotional anxieties. The blogspot also discussed each one of the 50 coping skills for kids.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): 50 coping skills for kids

Citations

https://copingskillsforkids.com/

https://www.bcbe.org/cms/lib/AL01901374/Centricity/Domain/1760/Coping%20Skills%20Toolkit.pdf

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