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Key Takeaways:
- Mental health exercises are tools that help your child calm down, ground themselves, and reset during challenging times.
- Practicing mental health exercises regularly can prevent your child from developing anxiety, improve their self-awareness, and make them more emotionally resilient.
- Some mental health exercises you can try with your child include grounding themselves, journaling their emotions, going for nature walks, and deep breathing.
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When children carry more mental noise than their developing brains can handle, they become stressed, anxious, and even depressed. But the solution isn’t to take their phones away or force them to sit down with a book. Mental health exercises can give your child the clarity and calm they need.
This guide will outline the best exercises for mental health, how to teach them to your child, and what their long-term benefits are.
What are Mental Health Exercises?
Mental health exercises improve mental well-being and alleviate symptoms of specific conditions, such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These activities aim to help parents identify potential stressors, develop healthier coping habits, and eliminate negative thoughts.
The key here is to find exercises that work for your child. Maybe they want to build emotional resilience or quiet their minds during stressful times.
Benefits of Practicing Mental Health Exercises Regularly
Brain exercises make for a happier, healthier child. Committing to them and finding pockets of time each day to engage in them are what make your child feel resilient, self-reliant, and calm. Here are a few other benefits your child can enjoy through mental health exercises:
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Reduced anxiety and depression: Relaxation techniques can reduce anxiety, stress, and depression. Previous studies have found that people with anxiety disorders were less phobic and worried [*].
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Improved self-awareness: Many mental health exercises require some level of introspection and reflection. Spending time getting to know yourself can put you in a better position to understand your triggers and identify helpful coping mechanisms.
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Enhanced cognitive function: Certain exercises, such as mindfulness and meditation, improve cognitive functions like working memory, attention, and processing speed.
13 Mental Health Exercises to Improve Clarity, Calm, and Well-being
Exercises for mental health can be lifelong tools for emotional resilience, self-awareness, and inner peace. Here are 13 activities you can try with your child.
1. Mindfulness
Mindfulness means engaging with the present moment. The best part? You and your child can practice it anywhere, any time! Studies have shown that incorporating mindfulness into your daily routine can reduce anxiety, improve emotional regulation, and increase relaxation [*].
How to do it: Dedicate a few minutes each day to a relaxing exercise, such as mindful posing or deep breathing. When practicing mindfulness for kids, ensure the activity is simple and age-appropriate.
2. Meditation
Daily meditation can calm the body and prepare you for the day (or night). It’s a deeper form of mindfulness that requires sustained focus and mental stillness. See it as a mental declutter. The more you do it, the better memory retention becomes, and the clearer you can see what’s happening around you. Consistent meditation can also improve how thoroughly the brain processes information [*].
How to do it: If you’re new to meditation or practicing with a child, try guided imagery. For example, you might use a recording that asks your child to envision falling leaves or snow while taking deep breaths.
3. Journaling
Sometimes, it can be hard for a child to express themselves out loud. One way to provide an outlet for heavy emotions is through journaling. With a journal, children can learn to self-monitor their emotions and reactions.
How to do it: As a family, write down three things you are grateful for each day and share these thoughts. Sharing helps you gain new perspectives and notice tiny, beautiful things you might not have noticed before. If your child is stumped for what to journal about, consider using journal prompts for kids.
4. Deep breathing exercises
We all need to take a deep breath now and then, but being conscious of it can be an effective, instant stress reliever. Breathing exercises for children train them to remain calm in high-intensity situations and be more present in the moment.
How to do it: Always practice in a safe, quiet space free from distractions. If you’re working with younger children, keep the breathing exercises simple yet imaginative to help them get into the “zone.” For example, you might use visual aids such as a heart-breathing poster or a star-breathing diagram.
Equip your child with breathing exercises they can do independently, as they might need them for stressful situations at school or away from home.
5. Grounding exercises
Grounding techniques help children step away from a stressful situation before they react. They can shift the brain from fight-or-flight mode to rest-and-digest mode. Practicing grounding exercises regularly equips children with a toolkit for handling big feelings.
How to do it: There are several ways to try grounding—active grounding, which requires physical work, and cognitive grounding. Active grounding might involve asking your child to stomp their feet to music to release intense energy. In contrast, cognitive grounding might involve naming things by specific categories to “reset” the brain.
6. Physical activities
Exercising the mind also means exercising the body. Physical and mental health are directly correlated. Feeling good puts your mind in a better position to think optimistically.
Physical exercises release chemicals in the brain that lift your mood—these include endorphins and other neurotransmitters.
How to do it: Follow your child’s interests. Do they love music? Try dancing! Are they a budding athlete? Enroll them in a sport. Do they prefer to do something more accessible at home? Give yoga a shot.
7. Sleep
Sleep is an underrated mental health “exercise,” and quality can influence your child’s mood, memory, and ability to tackle stress. When kids get the appropriate amount of sleep for their age, they pay better attention, learn faster, and are more emotionally regulated [*].
How to do it: Help your child get longer, better-quality sleep by establishing a bedtime routine. This might involve putting gadgets away, reading a chapter of a book, or listening to music. Try using dim lighting or a scent diffuser with soothing aromatherapy, such as lavender.
8. Cognitive reframing
Cognitive reframing, or restructuring, involves replacing intrusive, negative thoughts with more positive or neutral ones. It helps kids see situations from different perspectives and understand that there’s no one “right” way to approach something.
How to do it: Ask your child to notice their own thoughts and pinpoint anything particularly negative. Have them reflect on whether these thoughts are helpful or harmful.
9. Positive affirmations
When you’re countering negative thoughts, reciting positive affirmations can help put you in a better mindset. Practicing repetitive positivity can help children counter negativity, feel more confident, and be more resilient when facing stress.
How to do it: If you’re not sure where to start, refer to our positive affirmations for kids to find statements or mantras that resonate with your child. For example, if they’re nervous about going back to school after the summer, you can choose an affirmation like “I inhale confidence and exhale fear.”
10. Connecting with others
Spending time with others provides support that buffers stress and improves your child’s mood [*]. When they connect with friends, they’re effectively combating depression and loneliness, as well as learning to manage their emotions, set goals together, and develop healthy, long-term relationships. This is a process called social-emotional learning.
How to do it: Big, unstructured social groups can be more overwhelming than helpful, so creating a controlled environment can help them feel safer and more connected. Schedule small, more focused playdates and suggest specific cooperative activities, such as building with LEGO bricks or creating art.
11. Digital detox
Think of a digital detox as a “vacation” from your screen. Remember, a child’s brain is still developing, so relying on dopamine hits from the Internet can quickly become a problem.
A digital detox allows the brain’s reward system to return to its baseline state. It also prevents children from obsessively comparing themselves to others, which can lower self-esteem and cause overcompensation.
How to do it: Frame a digital detox as a family challenge, so your child doesn’t feel punished or singled out. Start simple and set attainable goals, like Screen-Free Sundays, and replace digital activities with physical ones, such as a family jog, a trip to the movies, or arts and crafts.
12. Progressive muscle relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a safe and simple activity that relieves tension in the body and clears the mind [*]. In younger children, research shows that it improves executive functioning and self-control [*].
How to do it: Make PMR more approachable for your child by introducing guided imagery. For example, when asking them to squeeze and release tension, ask them to imagine squeezing a lemon, then melting into the ground like an ice cream cone.
13. Nature walks
Regular access to green spaces and woodland walks can do wonders for a child’s well-being, including connecting them with nature, reducing mental fatigue, and cognitive development [*]. Going on a walk after a stressful experience, such as taking an exam or arguing with a friend, can give your child the sensory reset they need.
How to do it: Play to your child’s curiosity by looking up plants and wildlife you encounter along your walk. You can even take a camera with you to capture memories.
The Bottom Line
Seemingly simple exercises like walking in nature, journaling, and getting enough sleep can help sharpen a child’s mind and build a lasting foundation of calm during stressful moments.
Looking for more resources to teach your child how to stay calm? Explore our stress management worksheets to discover more coping techniques and exercises.
Sources:
- “Relaxation Techniques for Health.” NCCIH, 2022.
- Keng SL, Smoski MJ, Robins CJ. “Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies.” Clinical Psychology Review, 2011.
- “Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety.” NCCIH, 2020.
- Paruthi S, Brooks LJ, D’Ambrosio C, et al. “Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on the Recommended Amount of Sleep for Healthy Children: Methodology and Discussion.” Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2016.
Holt‐Lunstad J. “Social connection as a critical factor for mental and physical health: evidence, trends, challenges, and future implications.” World Psychiatry, 2024.
- Köse Kabakcıoğlu N, Ayaz-Alkaya S. “The effect of progressive muscle relaxation on stress, anxiety, and depression in adolescents: A quasi-experimental design.” Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 2024.
- Casman, Nani Nurhaeni. “Best Effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) on Children: A Systematic Review.” Scitepressorg, 2026.
- Maes MJA, Pirani M, Booth ER, et al. “Benefit of woodland and other natural environments for adolescents’ cognition and mental health.” Nature Sustainability, 2021.
