Inclusion & Engagement 

Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships!

Positive Coping

As they grow and develop, all children will encounter situations where they feel worried, nervous and sometimes even scared. Individuals deal with the demands on them by drawing on a range of coping strategies. Some strategies are more productive than others. 

Helping children to learn a range of positive coping skills will allow them to develop and practise skills that will enable them to cope with future changes and challenges. 

Below are some example coping strategies children can try at school and home.

Go and play 

Read a book 

Draw a picture 

Talk to yourself 

Pat a pet 

Play with friends 

Run around 

Sit quietly on your own 

Watch TV 

Play a computer game 

Hug your teddy 

Jump on the trampoline 

Sing a song 

Tell yourself, It’s okay my fear will go away 

Talk with mum or dad 

Imagine you’re on a sunny beach 

Fill your lungs like big balloons 

Listen to some gentle music 

Listen to lively music 

Count sheep jumping over a fence in a big green field 

Make a joke 

Ride a bike 

Eat something nice 

Write about it