Self-Control Worksheets and Handouts: Printable Activities to Help Kids Pause, Think, and Respond

When your child struggles to wait their turn, blurts out answers before thinking, or melts down when things don’t go their way, they’re showing signs that their self-control skills need support.

Self-control isn't something children are born with. It's a skill that develops over time with practice, patience, and the right tools.

These self-control worksheets offer age-appropriate activities to help kids strengthen their ability to pause, think through their choices, and respond thoughtfully instead of impulsively.

Why Self-Control Matters for Kids

Self-control is one of the most important life skills a child can develop. It's the ability to manage emotions, resist impulses, and think before acting.

Children with strong self-control skills are better equipped to handle social situations, manage frustration, focus on tasks, and make decisions that align with their goals rather than their impulses.

Research following children from first grade into adulthood shows that kids with stronger self-control early in life tend to do better in school years later [*].

Moreover, research on preschool children shows that self-control is not just about staying still.

Children who use strategies that match their level of excitement and anticipation, either calm or expressive, are better able to delay gratification. What matters most is not being perfectly still, but helping children manage excitement and redirect attention while they wait [*].

How Our Self-Control Worksheets Help

The good news is that self-control is teachable. Through repeated practice and guidance, children can learn to recognize their impulses, understand the consequences of their actions, and develop strategies to manage their behavior.

Our self-control worksheets help children recognize their own behavior patterns and practice strategies like calming the body, shifting attention, or using movement safely. This supports the underlying processes that help kids pause and wait successfully.

Whether your child needs help managing anger, resisting impulses, or thinking through decisions, these worksheets provide practice opportunities. They're perfect for use at home, in therapy sessions, or in classroom settings.

Parents and educators can use them as teaching tools during calm moments, then refer back to the strategies when challenges arise in real time.

Printable Self-Control Worksheets and Handouts

These printable worksheets and handouts target different aspects of impulse management and emotional regulation to give you multiple tools to support your child's growth.

Self-Control Skills Handout

The Self-Control Skills handout provides a quick introduction to what self-control means. It helps kids build a toolbox of skills they can use when they need to pause or make decisions. It encourages them to stop, think, and choose from one of the self-control skills provided.

It focuses on two main parts: “quick stop skills” to use when they need to pause right away, and “thinking skills” they can use when they need to make a decision.

Kids can use this handout as a reference when emotions run high or impulses take over. With regular use, they can start to recognize patterns and apply the skills on their own. Over time, these steps become habits they can use without the worksheet.

Tips to Improve Impulse Control Handout

The Impulse Control Activities for Kids handout helps children learn how to pause before acting and think about consequences instead of reacting on impulse. It explains common impulsive behaviors (like impatience or blurting out) and offers tips kids can use to slow down and make better choices.

For example, kids can use this handout to think about how actions affect others before interrupting, take a breath before reacting when frustrated, or pause before speaking when excited.

Adults can support the process by asking questions that encourage kids to consider outcomes (“What might happen if you act on this now?”) and choose more thoughtful responses.

Anger Management Worksheets Bundle

Anger is one of the most challenging emotions for children to control. The Anger Management Worksheets Bundle is a digital download of 20 printable activities designed to help kids understand and manage angry feelings in healthy ways.

It includes exercises where children can identify anger warning signs, explore the “anger iceberg” of hidden emotions, and learn a variety of coping skills.

These worksheets guide kids through recognizing emotions, tracking patterns, and learning practical ways to calm down instead of reacting impulsively.

Circle of Control Worksheets

The Circle of Control Worksheets introduce an important concept: understanding what we can and cannot control.

These activities guide kids through the process of sorting their worries, frustrations, and challenges into categories. Some things fall within their circle of control, like their own actions, effort, and attitude. Other things fall outside that circle, like other people's choices, the weather, or past events.

They help children focus their self-control on things they can influence, instead of using their energy on things they can’t.

For example, a child can use self-control to stay calm when a sibling grabs a toy, but they cannot control the sibling’s actions.

When children stop trying to control the uncontrollable, they have more mental and emotional resources available for managing what they can influence: their own responses.

Anger Volcano

The Anger Volcano poster uses a visual metaphor to help children understand how anger builds and eventually erupts if not addressed. The volcano image represents how emotions accumulate beneath the surface, with pressure building until it explodes in angry outbursts.

This resource teaches children to identify the underlying emotions that fuel their anger, feelings like hurt, disappointment, fear, or frustration. By recognizing these "magma" emotions early, kids can address them before they reach the eruption point.

What's effective about this approach is that it supports self-control of anger by addressing root causes rather than just symptoms. When children understand what's bothering them beneath the anger, they're better equipped to manage both the emotion and their behavioral response to it.

Help Your Kids Strengthen Their Self-Control Today

Self-control grows with practice and support. These resources work best when used consistently and with guidance from adults. Practice the strategies during calm moments, review them together, and gently remind your child of their tools when challenges arise.

Download these worksheets today and start helping your child develop the ability to pause, think, and respond thoughtfully. With practice and encouragement, they'll gain confidence in their ability to manage impulses, handle strong emotions, and make choices they can feel good about.

If you’re interested in teaching your child other skills, you can browse our character education collection here.

References:

1. Johnson SB, Voegtline KM, Ialongo N, Hill KG, Musci RJ. Self-control in first grade predicts success in the transition to adulthood. Dev Psychopathol. 2023 Aug;35(3):1358-1370. doi: 10.1017/S0954579421001255. Epub 2022 Jan 24. PMID: 35068406; PMCID: PMC9308826.
2. Radhika S. Raghunathan, Rashelle J. Musci, Nicole Knudsen, Sara B. Johnson, What children do while they wait: The role of self-control strategies in delaying gratification, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Volume 226, 2023, 105576, ISSN 0022-0965, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105576.