Summer is ending, and school will start soon for most kids and teens. A new school year can bring new worries. Kids will have new classrooms, new teachers, and new rules to learn, plus a new routine to get used to. Because of this, you might notice more big feelings around this time, like your child trying to avoid school or asking to leave.
To help with these feelings, you can make a back-to-school coping skills box with your child. Coping skills are simple tools that help calm our bodies and minds when we feel stressed, like taking deep breaths, counting down from 10, or using a fidget toy. The goal of a coping skills box is to give kids tools they can use at school to help them feel calm before or during a hard moment.
How to make a coping skills box:
- Gather items that might help your child. Pick things that are quiet, so they don’t distract the class. Good choices include a squishy fidget toy, a textured sticker, a small stress ball, a cotton ball with a drop of calming essential oil, kinetic sand or play dough, or mints.
- Put the items in a small box, like a pencil box.
- Add a picture chart of feelings and a list of coping skills (or use one of our free printables linked below!). Include “outside the box” ideas, like breathing exercises or getting a drink of water.
- Practice using the box together before school starts. This helps your child feel ready to use it in class.
Rose Schmitt – CAPACares School-Based Therapist
Feelings Bookmark || Coping Skills Bookmark || Coping Skills Menu
