Tips & Exercises
Practical, evidence-based tools to help children and teens manage big emotions, build resilience, and thrive, curated by our clinical experts and trusted national partners.
Calming Exercises for Children & Families
There are times when we all feel stressed or anxious, children included. Children look to the adults around them for calm, structure, and support. Start here with a guided exercise your whole family can practice together.
The Power-Up Lab
Feeling good is a skill you can practice, just like reading or soccer! Pick a power-up and give it a try. The more you practice, the stronger your happy, brave, kind brain gets.
The Reset Deck
Four quick tools for your actual life, no lectures, no login. Real ways to feel better, figure yourself out, and reset when everything's a lot. Pick a card.
Together Time
The strongest thing you can build for a child's mental health is connection. These quick activities turn a car ride or dinner into a moment of real closeness. Pick one and share it out loud.
Browse by age & stage
Every age handles big feelings differently. Choose an age below and the resources update instantly, from our own programs to the best of the nation's trusted experts in children's mental health.
A Way of Being Tip Sheets
Practical, printable guides for parents and caregivers grounded in trauma-informed care and the HOPE framework.
Learn moreStages of Development Videos
Short video guides helping parents understand what's normal at each stage and how to respond with empathy.
Learn moreHow to Help Toddlers Manage Big Emotions
Expert guidance on helping young children navigate tantrums, frustration, and overwhelm with empathy and structure.
Read moreUnderstanding Young Children & Trauma
How young children react to traumatic events, and practical suggestions for how caregivers can help.
Read moreHow to Separate From Clingy Kids
Strategies for managing separation anxiety at drop-off, bedtime, and beyond.
Read moreChild First Program
If your child is under 6 and facing challenges, Child First strengthens the parent-child relationship through home-based care.
Learn moreCalming Your Baby or Toddler
Practical, developmentally-tuned strategies for soothing infants and toddlers during distress.
Read moreFeelings Corner: Little Ones
Playful, interactive feelings tools built for ages 3-6, to do together with a grown-up.
Learn moreStop Now And Plan (SNAP®)
Our evidence-based program teaches children 6-11 to stop, think, and choose better responses, with measurable brain changes in 13 weeks.
Learn moreWhat to Do (and Not Do) When Children Are Anxious
How to help children face anxiety rather than avoid it, building long-term resilience.
Read moreHow to Model Healthy Coping Skills
Children learn by watching adults. How to demonstrate mindfulness, deep breathing, and positive self-talk.
Read moreKidSafe: Empowering Children to Stay Safe
Teaching children personal safety skills, how to recognize, resist, and report unsafe situations and abuse.
Learn moreHelp Kids Cope
The NCTSN's parent-focused app and resource for helping children cope with disasters, trauma, and everyday stress.
Read moreACEs Toolkit
Understand Adverse Childhood Experiences, what they are, how they affect children, and what you can do.
Learn moreFeelings Corner: Kids & Tweens
Interactive feelings detective games, calm-down tools, and worry-taming tricks for ages 7-13.
Learn moreDeep Breathing for Kids
Simple, guided breathing kids can follow along with when big feelings show up.
Read moreMental Health Fitness: 5 Skills
Interactive skills-building for teens and families, practical mental health habits you can practice together.
Read more10 Tips for Parenting Anxious Kids
Expert strategies for helping anxious teens without reinforcing avoidance.
Read moreSchool-Based Mental Health Services
If your teen is struggling at school, our therapists provide support right where they need it.
Learn moreUnderstanding Childhood Traumatic Stress
A comprehensive parent guide, what it is, the best treatments, and what parents can do.
Read moreHow to Change Negative Thinking Patterns
Teaching teens to recognize and reframe negative self-talk, a core CBT skill for anxiety and depression.
Read moreCounseling & Therapy Services
When your teen needs more than tips, our outpatient therapy addresses anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief.
Learn moreFeelings Corner: Teens
Private, no-login regulation tools built for ages 14-18, for real life, stress, and spirals.
Learn more988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Free, confidential support 24/7 for anyone in emotional distress. Call or text 988, or chat online.
Read moreA Way of Being with Children
The cornerstone of our approach, a practical guide for building safe, nurturing relationships grounded in HOPE.
Learn moreHow to Avoid Passing Anxiety On to Your Kids
How your own stress management shapes your child's emotional world.
Read moreCoping with Collective Trauma
Strategies for parents coping with community-wide traumatic events and supporting children through them.
Read moreBeKidSafe.org On-Demand Learning
Free and low-cost online courses on abuse prevention, trauma-informed parenting, and children's mental health.
Learn moreMindful Parenting
Using mindfulness to take stress and anxiety out of raising kids, everyday strategies that work.
Read moreFighting ACEs with HOPE
Understand the science behind ACEs and positive childhood experiences, and how HOPE changes a child's trajectory.
Learn moreFeelings Corner: For Grown-Ups
How to help a child through big feelings at any age, plus care for your own well-being.
Learn moreThe Science of Positive Childhood Experiences
The research behind HOPE, how positive experiences buffer adversity and build lifelong resilience.
Read moreChild Mind Institute
The leading independent nonprofit in children's mental health, with hundreds of free articles, guides, and expert resources.
Read moreNational Child Traumatic Stress Network
The nation's preeminent resource for child trauma education, research, and family support. CFCC is a proud member.
Read moreHOPE National Resource Center
The Tufts Medical Center research center behind the HOPE framework, with free resources, trainings, and tools.
Read moreHealthyChildren.org (AAP)
The American Academy of Pediatrics' parent resource, trusted guidance on health, development, and well-being.
Read moreSAMHSA
National helpline, treatment locator, and family resources for mental health and substance use.
Read moreZero to Three
Dedicated to the healthy development of infants and toddlers, with evidence-based tools for the earliest years.
Read moreCenter on the Developing Child (Harvard)
World-leading science on brain architecture, serve-and-return, toxic stress, and resilience, with guides, videos, and activities for building strong foundations.
Read moreHave a specific question? Meet the HOPE Assistant
The resources on this page are a wonderful starting point, but sometimes you have a question that's all your own. The HOPE Assistant is a warm, judgment-free place to ask about a child's feelings or behavior, and get guidance rooted in the same science that shapes everything here.
- Available any time, day or night, no login needed
- Grounded in the HOPE framework and trauma-informed care
- A thinking partner for the moments between the tips
Meet The Feelings Corner
The resources above are wonderful for reading and learning. The Feelings Corner is where kids and grown-ups can actually do the work, interactive breathing exercises, feeling check-ins, and calm-down tools, built for every age. It's the perfect companion to everything on this page.
Explore The Feelings CornerEvery child deserves to feel safe & supported
Whether you're looking for calming exercises, seeking professional support, or simply trying to understand what your child is going through, Center for Child Counseling is here to help across Palm Beach County.