Healthy Coping Skills for Kids and Teens

Big emotions are a normal part of life. Everyone feels angry, worried, sad, frustrated, or stressed at times, including young people. These feelings can happen when something disappointing happens. Coping skills for kids and teens offer healthy ways to manage difficult feelings.

Just as adults benefit from coping, kids and teens need it too, so they can make positive choices when life gets hard. This article explores healthy coping skills that you, as a caring adult, can teach and practice with them.

What are Coping Skills?

Coping skills are the thoughts and behaviors we use when we are dealing with challenges. They can help children and teens calm themselves, work through a problem, and adjust to something they cannot change.

It’s important to remember that the goal of coping is not to make difficult feelings disappear. Instead, coping skills can help kids and teens feel less overwhelmed and adapt to situations [*].

Research shows that healthy ways of coping, such as solving problems and asking for help, can help kids handle stress better. Avoidance, on the other hand, may lead to more emotional difficulties [*].

Healthy Coping Skills for Kids and Teens

They may need coping skills at school after a conflict with a classmate, when they feel overwhelmed by schoolwork, or when they make a mistake. At home, they may need them when dealing with a sibling, facing a change, or handling a difficult task.

The good news is that kids can learn many different coping skills, so they do not have to rely on just one skill every time they feel upset.

Feel free to try these ideas with those in your care and notice which ones help. I also teach and practice them with my therapy clients.

Coping skills for kids and teens when they feel angry

Anger can happen when young people don’t get what they want or are disappointed. When anger builds, the body may become tense, and the mind may race.

These coping skills help diffuse their anger and allow them to think before reacting:

• Use cool sensations. A cool sensation on the face may help activate the body's natural calming response. Research has found that applying cold to the face can briefly slow heart rate. For children, a cool washcloth on the face can be a simple option [*].
• Move their body. Running, walking, stretching, dancing, or another safe physical activity can help kids release physical tension. As the body relaxes, muscles can return to their normal resting state, which may create a sense of calm [*].
• Triangle breathing. Triangle breathing gives kids a simple pattern to follow when anger overwhelms them. Have them breathe in for 3 counts, hold for 3 counts, and breathe out for 3 counts while imagining the three sides of a triangle.

Coping skills for kids and teens when they feel anxious or worried

Worry can make young people feel like something bad might happen, even when they are safe. They may also have trouble focusing because their minds are busy thinking about what could go wrong.

These coping skills can help them slow down:

• Name feelings. Encourage kids to put their feelings into words, such as “I feel nervous about my test” or “I’m worried about what will happen.” Naming an emotion can make it easier to manage.
• Try a body scan. Have them slowly pay attention to different parts of their body, from their head down to their feet. They can notice areas that feel tense and slowly relax them.
• Try a worry box. On a small piece of paper, they can write down or draw a worry that has been bothering them and put it inside the worry box. They can then say a short phrase like, “I can let this worry go for now,” or “I can come back to this worry later.”

Coping skills for kids and teens when they feel sad or overwhelmed

Sadness can come from many experiences, such as losing something important, feeling left out, having a hard day, or going through a big change.

When sadness feels overwhelming, these skills can help kids care for themselves:

• Use creative outlets. Drawing a picture, listening to or making music, painting, and doing crafts can provide a nonverbal way for kids to explore difficult emotions. Research shows that art and other kinds of creative expression are powerful tools for relaxation and reducing anxiety [*].
• Practice loving-kindness. Teach them to use caring thoughts toward themselves, especially on a hard day. They can tell themselves, “I’m having a hard time, and I can still be gentle with myself.”
• Take a mental vacation. Help them imagine a peaceful place they know or create one in their mind. A calm beach, a quiet forest, or a cozy room can work.

Coping skills for kids and teens when they feel frustrated

Maybe your child gets frustrated when school subjects feel difficult, when they make mistakes in sports, or when things just don’t work out the way they wanted.

Instead of giving up right away, these skills can help them pause and try a new approach:

• Take a break. A short break can give young people time to step away from a difficult task and return when their minds are clearer. Research shows that purposeful breaks, when used as a healthy form of distraction, can help calm strong emotions [*].
• Try problem-solving. Help them identify what is wrong and think of possible solutions. Encourage them to pick a solution that matches their values, such as being kind, fair, honest, or doing their best.
• Be a thought detective. If they feel frustrated after an interaction with a friend or classmate, encourage them to pause and examine their thoughts. They might ask, “Do I know this is true?” or “Could I be looking at this another way?”

Coping skills for kids and teens when they feel stressed out

Too many expectations, schedule changes, and pressures — from classes and sports to family responsibilities — can leave young people feeling overloaded. If left unchecked, stress can build up and start to affect their mood, sleep, and even their physical health.

The following skills support them in slowing down and practicing self-care:

• Build healthy habits. Regular sleep, nutritious meals, physical activity, and enough downtime all work together to give them a stronger foundation for handling everyday stress. We can help support these efforts by modeling these habits at home and at school.
• Get organized. Help them write down what they need to do and break large tasks into smaller steps. Having a clear structure can make things feel more predictable. It helps them feel more in control, which reduces stress.
• Create a calm-down corner. Make a quiet space available at home or school where they can go when they need time to reset. Keep it simple with accessible tools like nature pictures, encouraging books or stories, and drawing materials.
• Practice mindful observation. Ask them to pause and pay attention to what they can see, hear, and feel around them. The goal is for them to just notice these experiences without deciding whether they are good or bad.

Teaching Coping Skills to Kids and Teens

Kids and teens can learn coping skills best when they practice them in advance. When a child is already very upset, it’s hard to learn something new. Introduce these skills during calm times — after dinner, before bed, or on a quiet weekend morning.

I recommend trying these strategies and helping your child find the ones that work best for them:

• Do it together. Practice the skill side by side so your child or teen sees that adults use coping tools too.
• Offer choices, not commands. Start with two or three choices and let them decide what feels right in the moment.
• Use visual tools. If needed, use visual tools like pictures, storybooks, cards, or breathing guides.
• Catch them trying. Praise any attempt to use a coping skill, even if it doesn’t work perfectly. Point out their effort and remind them that coping takes practice.
• Match the skill to the situation. Help them notice which skills work best for different feelings. For example, movement may help when they are angry, while creative outlets may help when they are sad.
• Reflect together. After they have calmed down, ask what helped them feel better and what they might want to try next time.

Healthy coping doesn’t mean kids and teens will never feel upset, worried, or overwhelmed. Difficult emotions are a normal part of life, so coping skills need regular practice. They may even inspire friends, siblings, and others around them to try positive ways of coping!

Looking for more ways to support young people? Visit our Coping Skills Worksheets collection to discover more resources.

References:

1. Coping strategies. (n.d.). In ScienceDirect Topics. Elsevier. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/coping-strategies
2. Simão, A., Ratinho, E., & Nunes, C. (2026). The Role of Coping Strategies, Social Support and Dark Triad Traits in the Psychological Adjustment of Adolescents in Residential Care. Residential Treatment For Children & Youth, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/0886571X.2026.2680878
3. Khurana, R. K., & Wu, R. (2006). The cold face test: a non-baroreflex mediated test of cardiac vagal function. Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society, 16(3), 202–207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-006-0332-9
4. Rudy, T. (n.d.-b). Helping Children to “Shake it Off”: Releasing and Reducing Stress. https://extension.psu.edu/helping-children-to-shake-it-off-releasing-and-reducing-stress
5. Stuckey, H. L., & Nobel, J. (2009). The Connection Between art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current literature. American Journal of Public Health, 100(2), 254–263. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2008.156497
6. Webb, T. L., Miles, E., & Sheeran, P. (2012). Dealing with feeling: a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological bulletin, 138(4), 775–808. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027600