Parents, carers, school staff and child therapists supporting children or teenagers with big emotions can use this feelings workbook to build a simple, repeatable coping plan. It suits one-to-one counselling, pastoral support, emotional regulation sessions and calm-down work at home, especially for young people who benefit from clear prompts and space to write or draw.
A clear sequence helps children slow down and decide what to do when feelings become difficult to manage. The workbook introduces seven coping steps: notice my feelings, notice my body, pause before I act, calm my body, talk about it, ask for what I need, and choose what to do next.
Young people are invited to identify emotions including anger, sadness, worry, fear, frustration, embarrassment, loneliness, confusion, disappointment, excitement, pride and calm. A feelings intensity scale from 0 to 10, reflective writing boxes and prompts about what was happening help a child connect an emotion to a situation.
Body-awareness activities focus on physical signs of stress and strong feelings, such as a fast heartbeat, tight tummy, hot face, shaky hands, tense muscles, sweating, restlessness, nausea or feeling frozen. Children can tick their own body clues, mark them on a body outline and consider which warning signs appear first or grow stronger.
The pause-before-action activity supports safer choices during emotional moments. It asks children to consider urges, possible consequences and ways to pause, including slow breathing, counting, stepping back, moving away briefly or asking for time. Useful for primary-aged children, older pupils and teens in counselling, school wellbeing work or family conversations, it also encourages a personal reminder such as “I do not have to act yet.”
