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Anxiety,  Coping Skills

43 Anxiety Activities & Tips for Kids (Printable PDF)

Anxiety Activities for Children (Free Checklist & Worksheet)

Helping an Anxious Child banner_Mother comforting daughter

In this article, we have compiled a comprehensive selection of activities for kids with anxiety or worry.

Anxiety is an adaptive emotion. Anxiety is an alarm system in our body that anticipates threats.

But anxiety becomes a problem when:

  • our body alarm is triggered too often
  • responds to harmless everyday situations, or
  • the response is so intense that it affects how we function.

There are a good number of strategies and activities that will help our kids with anxiety.

Most of the tips and activities below will work well for both young children and teens.

At the end of this post, you will be able to download:

  1. a free checklist with all these useful tips & activities for kids with anxiety or worry
  2. an anxiety activity for kids:  “Thing I can control vs Things I can’t control” worksheet.

40+ TIPS & ACTIVITIES TO HELP A CHILD WITH ANXIETY

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List of tips, ideas, and anxiety activities to help children with anxiety and worry  (detailed explanation of each of these ideas in the next section, and a downloadable PDF at the end of this post):

  1. Talk to your child’s doctor
  2. Empathize with your child. Validate your child’s emotions.
  3. Teach your child about anxiety
  4. Teach your child to identify the worry signs
  5. Explain how being a little worried is good and useful
  6. Let them understand that everybody has worries or anxieties
  7. Explain the risks of avoidance behaviors
  8. Help your child write down his worries on a paper (Anxiety worksheet for kids)
  9. Keep a Worry Journal / Thought Diary
  10. Help your Child Challenge Worry Thoughts
  11. Establish a “Worry Time”
  12. Create a “Worry Box”
  13. Teach Problem-Solving Abilities
  14. Teach Your Child How to Be Assertive
  15. Approach Problems & Fears One Step at a Time
  16. Lazy 8 Breathing
  17. Belly Breathing (diaphragmatic breathing or abdominal breathing)
  18. Yoga Breathing Techniques
  19. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
  20. Stress balls
  21. Mindfulness
  22. Practice Yoga with your Kids
  23. Massage
  24. Write down worries & Dispose of them
  25. Change worry thoughts into happy thoughts
  26. Drawing and coloring activities
  27. Exercise 
  28. Play a board game with a sibling
  29. Read an interesting book
  30. Listen to music
  31. Listen to a relaxation audio
  32. Sit your kid in your lap and give her soothing cuddle time
  33. Warm bath /Shower
  34. Use a weighted blanket
  35. Use a weighted vest
  36. Look at a Sensory Bottle or Calming Jar
  37. Essential Oils
  38. Sensory Swin
  39. Prepare a “Calm Down Kit”
  40. Have a calm-down plan ready
  41. Create a relaxation ritual
  42. Create a Calm Down Space/ Room
  43. Encourage Positive Self-Talk
  44. General health tips: Healthy diet /  Get enough sleep / Exercise

Checklist with tips and activities for kids that worry and a worksheet "Things I can & can't control"

How can you help your child with anxiety?

1. Consult your child’s doctor

Your first step will always need to be an appointment with your doctor

You are about to read a lot of very useful tips on how to help your anxious child, BUT, you will need professional help to:

  • rule out other reasons for the physiological symptoms that we often see associated with anxiety in children (e.g. headaches, tummy aches)
  • assess if you need support from a psychologist to help your child through some of the techniques that you will read below.

2. Empathize with your child

You really need your child to feel comfortable sharing with you their feelings and worries.

By showing your empathy and understanding you will make sure your child doesn´t hide fears because they have been labeled as “silly” or “absurd”

3. Teach your child about anxiety

Anxiety is a common reaction to situations we anticipate as threats.

Explain how we are “wired” to deal with threats in one of these three ways:

  • flight
  • fight
  • freeze.

So, it is normal for your child or student to react to everyday situations like that.

Flight-Fight-Freeze situation / Examples

This is a helpful example for kids to understand what flight-fight-freeze looks like for them:  

Situation: The teacher asks a question in class

  1. You get so anxious that your mind goes blank – what has been your reaction? Freeze?
  2. You put your head down and pray for the teacher not to pick you to answer the question. Could that be flight response?

4. Teach your child to identify their worry signs

Feeling tense, heart racing, sweating, stomach ache, or headaches are some common physical symptoms or signs that our body sends us when we are feeling anxious.

The best explanation for kids of common anxiety body clues I’ve ever read is in:

The book itself is a must-have if you have kids struggling with anxiety.

It is a book written for them, easy to read and understand.

It covers everything about anxiety, from its role as an alarm body system to a complete set of strategies to help them cope or overcome their worries.

5. Explain how being a little worried is good and useful

You can share an example that will be really easy for them to understand.

“Being a bit worried about having to sit for a test tomorrow is ok. It will probably help you stop watching T.V. It will motivate you to go to your room and do a bit of extra studying to make sure you pass your exam”

6. Let them understand that everybody has worries or anxieties

Share with them an example of something that has worried you, how it made you feel and what you did to deal with that worry.

7. Explain the risks of avoidance behaviors

One of the most common coping strategies for anxiety is avoiding all those experiences that make us feel anxious.

Is avoiding those difficult situations a problem?

Well, actually it is.

By avoiding those places or events that make us anxious we also:

  • fail to assess if there is a real need to feel anxious (we don´t challenge our anxious thoughts)
  • fail to build appropriate coping skills
  • may end up limiting our activities and missing out on potentially rewarding moments.

Understanding Your Child’s Worries: Let´s Write Them Down!

8. Help your child write down their worries on a paper (Anxiety Activity for Kids – Free Anxiety Worksheet):

Things I Can Control Worksheet with a message indicating that there is a download form at the end of the post

Help your child write down their worries.

This will serve two purposes:

  • it will help you better understand what your child’s worries are
  • it will be working material for both of you to start differentiating two types of worry:
    • worries you can do something about
    • worries you can´t do anything about, so you will just need to learn how to cope with those worries.

At the end of this post, you will be able to download our “Things I Can & Can’t Control” Worksheet.

Your child will be to explore their worries and identify the ones out of their control and the ones they can do something about.

There is a very nice book for small kids that takes them through this exact process.

Wilma Jean the Worry Machine is a schoolgirl who worries about everything.

But her very helpful teacher help her organize her worries into two groups: “worries I can control” and “worries I can´t control”

I always find that reading this type of short story goes a long way into kids understanding and accepting everyday life situations.

9. Keep a Worry Journal / Thought Diary

Journaling is another useful way for both of you to be able to gather information so that you can work on those worries.

10. Help your Child Challenge Worry Thoughts

As you have been able to gather information about your child´s worries, you will now be able to help your child reflect on those worries:

  • Ask your child for evidence that supports those beliefs.
    What makes you feel people will make fun of you if you don´t know the answer?
  • Help them identify how anxiety is tricking them into thinking so
    Do other kids in your class fail to know answers to the teacher’s questions? Do you make fun of them? Do other kids make fun of them? Or is it just normal?
  • Help them find an alternative thought that would be more accurate and helpful
    We all sometimes don´t know the answer to the teacher’s questions. Maybe it is a great way to find out some things that we didn´t realize we needed to work on.

What Happens If We Are Constantly Worrying?

11. Establish a “Worry Time”

If your kid is worrying all the time, you may find it useful to introduce the concept of “Worry Time”.

It is a time in the day you allocate to think and talk about worries.

The rest of the time, they need to think about something different.

It is obviously easier said than done, and you may have already realized that they may even focus on the worries until they get to talk about them, either because it is an “unfinished business” or because they are worried they will forget the worry.

💡TIP: Write down the worry on a piece of paper or in their worry journal so that they can relax and not worry about forgetting it.

Connected with this line of thought is the next tip:

12. Create a “Worry Box” FEELINGS Box_Anger Management Activity for Kids

A “Worry Box” is a place to store away worries until you are ready to deal with them.

When a worried thought strikes, you write it down on a piece of paper and you store it away in your worry box.

You may then decide how you are going to tackle that problem, or you may just need to talk to somebody about it.

Worries You Can Do Something About

13. Teach Problem-Solving Abilities

Sometimes, anxiety may be caused by a real problem. In those cases, developing good problem-solving abilities may be the best help.

You could work on developing your kid´s problem-solving abilities by helping him:

  • Identify a problem and describe it
  • Generate alternatives
  • Predict consequences for those alternatives
  • Choose the alternative that best solves the problem
  • Action it.

14. Teach Your Child How to Be Assertive

Sometimes anxiety in a social context may derive from the inability to stand up for ourselves.

Assertive Communication for Kids Worksheets_Link to shop
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15. Approach Problems & Fears One Step at a Time

The best way for our children is to take small steps and move to the next level only when their anxiety levels allow them and they feel confident enough.

In CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) terms this would be called “gradual exposure”: systematically confronting your fears by going through a list of situations that have been ranked according to their ability to elicit your anxiety.

You would only move up the hierarchy once your anxiety levels for a certain situation feel tolerable.

So, if your child is afraid of speaking in front of the class, you may be able to approach that situation in an increasingly complex way where she will practice in different situations:

  • does a speech alone in her room
  • does a speech in front of Mom
  • does a speech with all the family
  • we invite a friend to join and she practices with all of us

Calming Strategies When You Can´t Control a Worry 

Deep Breathing Exercises for Kids

There are a number of really good breathing exercises that can help anxious kids.

They can even be adjusted so that they become really fun anxiety activities for kids:

16. Lazy 8 Breathing

I highly recommend this technique. If you want to learn how to practice this really simple technique and why I think it works so well you can read:

17. Belly Breathing (diaphragmatic breathing or abdominal breathing)

In diaphragmatic breathing, the breathing is done by contracting the diaphragm. The air enters the lungs, the chest does not rise but the belly pushes outwards.

It is really easy to teach.

Ask your child to take deep breaths while they put one hand on their belly and the other one on their chest. When they breathe in they can feel their belly come out, while their chest does not move.

18. Yoga Breathing Techniques

There are a number of breathing techniques that we can learn through yoga.

I always try to make things fun, to make sure my kids engage in the activities I plan. I found a great resource to practice yoga breathing techniques:

A charming and very fun story that teaches kids four yoga breathing techniques in order to help them deal with anger, anxiety, and tension:

  • Crocodile breathing
  • Lion breathing
  • Humming bee breathing
  • Woodchopper breathing

It is a great book that is not just about telling a story but that makes the kids participate in the story. I especially recommend it for a classroom setting.

Teaching breathing techniques using “animal breathing” is a really cool and fun way to around an exercise that could otherwise feel a bit “boring”.

Relaxation Techniques

19. Progressive Muscle Relaxation

This technique teaches us how to tense and relax muscle groups (fists, arms, legs, face, whole body) to achieve relaxation.

The video below by TherapYi reproduces a script for progressive muscle relaxation for kids that you can also find in Play Therapy Techniques by Dr. Charles E. Schaefer and Donna Cangelosi.

Charles E. Schaefer is the American psychologist considered to be the “Father of Play Therapy”.

20. Stress balls

The principle behind stress relief toys is the same as I mentioned in the previous relaxation activity.

By tensing and relaxing your hand muscles with a stress ball you relieve stress and muscle tension.

And, if you are into DYI you can learn how to make homemade stress balls in just 3 minutes!

21. Mindfulness

Mindfulness is about focusing on the present. Thinking about here and now, and not the past or the future. Acceptance and awareness of what is happening to you in the present moment.

We become aware of the present moment, by focusing our attention on our five senses.

We notice what we see, smell, hear, touch, and taste.

The thoughts in your mind are accepted, without judgment,  but they must be allowed to flow away so that you can stay in the present.

Mindfulness can help us feel calmer and in control, as a consequence of accepting our thought and letting them go.

You can find several mindfulness exercises in:

You can start with this simple but effective mindfulness exercise: 5 4 3 2 1 Grounding Exercise 

Or get inspiration from this list of fun mindfulness activities for kids.

22. Practice Yoga for Kids

If you want to explore benefits, beginner’s tips, books, and other resources you can read about this topic in my post Yoga for Kids.

And, if you wish to turn yoga into a fun game that will lure into exercise the most exercise-averse child, try these fun animal yoga poses for kids.

23. Massage

Medical research has shown that the benefits of massage include pain relief, reduced trait anxiety, and depression, and temporarily reduced blood pressure, heart rate, and state of anxiety. Source: APA PsycNET

But even if you don´t know anything about massage, lots of kids find it really soothing to have a soft foot, hand, back, or head massage.

Looking for more ideas? ⇒ 7 Fun Massage Ideas for Kids

Using Their Imagination as an Anxiety Coping Tool

24. Ask your child to write down his/her worries on a piece of paper and dispose of them

In the past, we have flushed worries down the toilet or thrown them in the rubbish bin.

Our latest addition to this technique has been the “Monster that Eats our Worries”.

These super cute monsters have a zip on their mouth. After you write down your worried thought you put it inside the monster´s mouth and zip it closed. That way you dispose of your worry and negative feelings.

 

25. Change worry thoughts into happy thoughtsexample of anxiety affirmation card stating you can change worry thoughts into helpful ones

Ask your kid to think about places or memories that make them feel happy.

In order to help your child visualize those positive thoughts or memories, you can prepare a visual board (we have prepared at home a “Wall of Happiness” that both our kids have up on the wall in their bedrooms- we use visual boards to help develop coping skills).

Another way to keep happy thoughts at hand can be a Happy Memories album.

When the worry thoughts show up, ask your kid to talk about one of those happy memories and switch the worry thought into a happy one.

Breaking the Cycle of Worrying Thoughts

Distract your kid from his worries by keeping him busy. These are just a few examples of activities that may work well when your child is having feelings of anxiety.

26. Drawing and Coloring

Research suggests that drawing and coloring may be helpful tools to ease your anxiety and worry.

Check out these fun anxiety drawing ideas.

27. Exercise / Physical activity(go for a scooter or bike ride)

Physical activity benefits our mental health and has proven to alleviate symptoms associated with anxiety and panic attacks.

So if your child is feeling a bit anxious, going out for a walk or a bike ride may be a good idea.

28. Play a board game with a sibling

29. Read an interesting book

Sensory Strategies to Calm Down an Anxious Child 

Ear

30. Listen to music

31. Listen to a relaxation audio

Touch/Pressure

32. Sit your kid in your lap and give her soothing cuddle time

33. Warm bath /Shower

34. Use a weighted blanket

A weighted blanket is a therapeutic product that has often been used with kids with special needs. It is a great product for anxiety and sleep issues. 

Before you start using this calming tool I recommend you read my post on how to use a weighted blanket. It shares my own experience and mistakes to avoid.

35. Use a weighted vest

A weighted vest can also provide soothing sensory input and calming benefits. You can check weighted vests here.

Sight

36. Look at a Sensory Bottle or Calming Jar

If you would like to prepare your own sensory bottle you can check out this extremely easy hand wash recipe:

And if you feel really lazy, it is as easy as getting one of these.

Smell

37. Essential Oils

Proprioception

38. Sensory Swin

Let them soothe themselves in a cocooning therapy swing.

Related: Fun Sensory Activities for Kids

Final Calm Down Tips for Kids with Anxiety

39. Prepare a “Calm Down Kit” 

Prepare a “calm down kit” with all the things that work for your kid (music, calm down cards, sensory bottle, squeeze ball)

40. Have a calm down plan ready

A paper where you have identified all the techniques that may help with worries.

41. Create a relaxation ritual that works for your kids

Do you remember how you used to train your baby to sleep with a relaxation technique? Why not try it also with your big baby? How about a bath, soft music, putting pajamas on, and reading a book with a glass of milk?

42. Create a Calm Down Space/ Room

A calm-down corner is a safe space where your child can retreat when they have an anxious moment.

It’s a quiet place where they may be able to use their fidgeting toys, calm down jar, or distract themselves with some favorite activities till those anxious feelings are gone.

Related: How to Use Fidget Toys to Calm Down in the Classroom

43. Encourage Positive Self-Talk

Work on boosting your child’s self-esteem and confidence. It will also help your kid believe that he will be able to overcome his worries.

This article will give you lots of ideas on self-esteem activities for kids that you can easily implement.

44. General health tips

Remember that it is also important to keep your child´s body happy by

  • eating healthy
  • getting enough sleep and
  • exercising to burn energy!

Related Children Anxiety Articles

For additional tips  that will be especially useful for teenagers I recommend the following post (it was written after an Autism Parents workshop, but, the tips are very useful for any teenager struggling with social anxiety, stress, or worry):

And, if you would like to add a bit of fun to such a serious topic, don’t miss:

Anxiety Affirmation Cards for Kids_Link to the store

Anxiety Activities for Kids (Checklist) + Anxiety Worksheet (Free PDF Download)

Fill in your details below and download your:

  1. free anxiety worksheet “Thing I can control vs Things I can’t control”
  2. checklist with all these useful tips & activities for kids with anxiety or worry

 

How to Help a Child with Anxiety

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