9 Printable Feelings Chart for Kids

One of the best life skills kids can develop is recognizing and identifying their emotions. Asking them how they feel daily is a simple way to improve their emotional intelligence as they develop and grow into adolescence and adulthood. Using tools such as a feelings chart for kids can help them label their emotions and, in turn, become more capable of managing how they communicate and react to people. Kids can also learn how to cope with their worries and fears, which helps them become more resilient and healthy mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Here, we’ll share some printable feelings charts that kids can use to better understand their feelings and emotions.

What is a Feelings Chart for Kids, and How Does It Work?

A feelings chart is a visual tool that helps kids identify and verbalize feelings. While typically used in healthcare settings, feelings charts may also be used at home or school. These tools may have different features, such as faces, charts, graphs, and wheels. Feelings charts for kids usually concentrate on a limited number of emotions to make it easier to use, but others can include many complex feelings accompanied by visual aids like faces.

Feelings charts are especially helpful for children because they teach them how to recognize their emotions and regulate their behavior. Children have not yet developed the emotional vocabulary to express themselves, so an emotions chart for kids is a great tool to get kids talking about big and complex feelings.

Start by using any of the kid-friendly feelings charts we have listed below, and begin by helping your child label primary emotions. As your child continues to learn and expand their emotional awareness and vocabulary, you can move on to the more complex or nuanced feelings listed on the chart.

Doing this as often as possible will establish identifying emotions as a regular part of your routine and get your kids used to talking about their feelings in clearer ways.

What are the Benefits of Using Feelings Chart for Kids?

Using feelings charts can be beneficial for kids in many ways. Some of the benefits include but are not limited to the following:

• Strengthening of relationships
• Interrupting cycles of reactivity
• Better control over one’s life
• Improvement in physical and mental well-being
• Better coping mechanisms for stress
• Adapting to changes more easily

9 Printable Feelings Chart for Kids

Printable feelings charts are a great visual tool that kids can use daily. Here are some that you can print out and place in your child’s room or around the house.

1. Feelings Thermometer

A feelings thermometer will allow kids to gauge their feelings using a scale. This allows them to become more aware of where they are emotionally and how they can manage themselves and act constructively, given their feelings.

2. Feelings Check In

Checking in with your kids on how they are feeling can benefit everyone involved. This increases emotional awareness and encourages kids to talk about their emotions more freely. Kids who can identify how they feel during a feelings check-in are more able to direct their behaviors to more positive outcomes and deal with negative emotions in a healthy way.

3. Feelings List

Identifying and naming feelings can increase a child’s well-being. This handout provides kids with a list of emotions that they can identify with, whether they’re positive or negative. It starts with broader categories of emotions and goes into specific feelings so kids can expand their emotional vocabulary while managing their emotions.

4. Feelings Wheel

Often, kids may act out because they cannot describe exactly what they’re feeling. This tool is designed to help kids figure out exactly what they feel to understand the cause of that emotion and learn how to respond or cope.

5. Emoji Feelings Chart

This poster helps kids communicate their emotions easily. If your child is having difficulty expressing their feelings, then you can use this tool to help them. The color-coded feelings make it easier for kids to choose from the poster and express their feelings.

6. Feelings and Emotions Alphabet

Growing our emotional vocabulary is essential to express our feelings accurately. This feelings and emotions alphabet handout can teach kids words for simple and complex emotions. This helps kids understand themselves better and allows them to be understood by others.

7. How Are You Feeling Chart (Extra Large)

A feelings chart is especially useful because it can help young people label their emotions, especially when experiencing difficult ones. Some examples of more complex emotions are embarrassment, guilt, and feeling offended. By naming each emotion properly, kids can learn better coping skills.

8. Anger Thermometer

Anger is a feeling that can be difficult to control. Using an anger thermometer like the one in this poster can help kids evaluate their anger levels and learn what actions to take. They can also learn healthy coping strategies using this chart.

9. Anxiety Thermometer

Like anger, anxiety can be hard to stop or control once it starts. When your kids start to get anxious, have them identify their specific emotions on the thermometer so they can better understand how they feel and how to cope. Some coping techniques on this worksheet include deep breathing, splashing cold water on one’s face, or thinking of a peaceful scenario.

Help Kids Express Their Emotions with These Feelings Charts

When we can give a name to a feeling, even the unpleasant ones, we can better control it. However, not everyone has the capacity to recognize their emotions quickly. Fortunately, visual tools for kids, such as a feelings chart, can help identify emotions for a deeper understanding and constructive coping methods.

A kids' feelings chart can help improve emotional intelligence, increase self-awareness, and improve physical and mental health, whether used in therapy sessions or at home. You can use any feelings charts for kids and teens that suit your needs and preferences.