Printable sheets 🖍️
15 sheets to use at home, each one written like a child psychologist would and backed by a real citation. Download whichever you need today — each button prints just that sheet.
Map of the zones
Four colours to notice which energy-and-emotion "zone" you're in, and what you can do in each one.
Blue — Sad, tired, bored
A long hug, drink water, rest a little.
Green — Calm, happy, ready to learn
Great! It's a good time to play, learn or help out.
Yellow — Nervous, frustrated, worried
Take 3 deep breaths, move around a bit, or tell someone.
Red — Very strong anger, very strong fear, out of control
Stop. Breathe like a balloon. Ask an adult for help.
Behind this sheet: Based on the "Zones of Regulation" framework by Leah Kuypers, occupational therapist — the most widely used school framework for teaching self-regulation through colour.
Emotion dictionary
The 6 basic emotions and, for each one, two more precise words to name exactly what you feel.
Behind this sheet: The richer your emotional vocabulary, the better you regulate what you feel — the idea of "emotional granularity" we already use in the Emotions game, here as a printable.
Calm traffic light + breathing
Stop, think and act when something overwhelms you, plus two breathing techniques for the "stop" step.
STOP
I stop and breathe.
THINK
What's going on with me? What can I do?
ACT
I calmly choose the best solution.
Balloon breathing
Breathe in for 4 seconds, filling your belly like a balloon. Hold for 2. Let the air out for 6 seconds, slowly.
Hand breathing
Trace the fingers of one hand with a finger of the other: breathe in going up each finger, out coming down.
Behind this sheet: Slow, guided breathing has real support in studies with 9-13-year-olds (Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2022) and school biofeedback with 500+ children (2022) — not just a nice-sounding phrase.
My daily routine
Draw or stick what you do each day. Knowing what's coming gives security.
Behind this sheet: Visual routines have recent backing (2024 review) for their effect on executive function and behaviour in children with anxiety or ADHD, beyond the autism context where they originated.
The worry monster
Draw your worry and feed it to the monster. You don't have to carry it alone anymore.
Behind this sheet: Externalising a worry by drawing it is a technique widely used in social work and child therapy, rooted in cognitive behavioural therapy: separating "the worry" from "who I am" makes it more manageable.
Script for a meltdown (for the adult)
5 steps to accompany an emotional outburst instead of trying to force it to stop.
- 1. Notice the emotion before it explodes (face, body, tone of voice).
- 2. See it as a chance to connect, not as a nuisance.
- 3. Listen and validate: "I can see you're really angry".
- 4. Name what they're feeling: anger, frustration, sadness…
- 5. Once they're calmer, work out together what to do next time.
Behind this sheet: The 5 steps of John Gottman and Joan DeClaire's "emotion coaching" (1997): children accompanied this way show better long-term emotional regulation than with punishment or ignoring the meltdown.
My story for a change
Fill in the blanks to prepare together for a change (new school, a sibling, moving house) before it happens.
Soon I'm going to _______________.
When I get there, I'll see _______________.
I might feel _______________, and that's okay to feel.
If it's hard, I can _______________ to feel better.
Behind this sheet: Carol Gray's "social story" format (1991), one of the most empirically supported resources for preparing little ones for the new — a recent trial in UK schools (2024-25) confirms it in practice.
This week's family meeting
15-20 minutes a week: appreciations, pending topics, solutions together and one fun plan.
1. Appreciations
Everyone says something good another family member did this week.
2. Pending topics
Is there something that didn't go well that we want to talk about calmly?
3. Solutions together
Everyone suggests one idea, without judging any yet. Pick one to try this week.
4. Fun plan
What will you do together as a family this week, even if just 20 minutes?
Behind this sheet: Jane Nelsen's positive discipline family-meeting format: always starting with appreciations before discussing what needs solving changes the tone of the whole conversation.
Sibling repair plan
After a fight: what happened, what each of you needs, and what you'll do differently next time.
What happened?
Each of you tells your version, without interrupting the other.
What do I need?
A "sorry"? Space? Something given back?
What will we do differently?
One concrete idea for next time something similar happens.
Behind this sheet: Research on sibling conflict treats it as an opportunity to practise social skills with guidance, not something to avoid at all costs.
The 3 good things diary
Every day of the week: something good that happened, something you did well, and who you're thankful to.
| Something good that happened | Something I did well | Who I'm thankful to | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | |||
| Tuesday | |||
| Wednesday | |||
| Thursday | |||
| Friday | |||
| Saturday | |||
| Sunday |
Behind this sheet: Froh, Sefick and Emmons (2008) found in 221 adolescents that "counting blessings" relates to more life satisfaction; a 2025 Australian trial confirms it in real schools, not just in the lab.
Script for big feelings at bedtime
3 short steps for when crying or fear shows up right at bedtime.
1. Connect
Come close, get down to their level, offer physical contact if they want it (a hug, a hand on the back).
2. Validate before solving
"I can see this really scares you" — before explaining why there's nothing to fear.
3. Breathe together
Three slow breaths, your voice low and unhurried. Your calm lends them theirs.
Behind this sheet: Based on Stephen Porges's polyvagal theory and Siegel and Bryson's "The Whole-Brain Child": an adult's touch and calm regulate a child before words can — "connect before you redirect".
Screens and emotions: cause or consequence?
5 questions to find out whether the screen is creating the distress, or your child is using it to soothe one that was already there.
- Have they been acting off, sad or on edge for a while BEFORE asking for the screen? If so, the screen is probably an attempt to soothe something already there, not the cause.
- Does the meltdown happen when you TAKE the screen away, not when they ask for it? That points more to difficulty letting go of something pleasant than to the screen "doing" something to them.
- What are they actually doing in front of the screen? Creating, talking to someone or learning something weighs differently than watching endless videos without noticing which ones.
- Is it replacing sleep hours or family time? That is a real warning sign, regardless of the number of hours.
- How are they once calm, after turning the screen off? If they go back to playing, talking or laughing normally, the screen did its job as a release valve; if they're still just as low, the underlying distress is still unaddressed.
Behind this sheet: A meta-analysis of 117 studies with 292,000 children (2025, reported by the APA) confirms a real bidirectional relationship between screens and emotional problems — it isn't just the screen affecting the child, prior distress also pushes toward the screen.
Your calm is their calm
3 steps to regulate your own body before stepping in with words when your child is overwhelmed.
1. Feel your own body
Before saying anything, notice your own breathing and your shoulders. If you're wound up, bring it down before you get close.
2. Approach in silence
Get down to their level, offer physical contact if they want it. Your calm body is already communicating, before any words.
3. Name it, don't explain it
"This has overwhelmed you" is enough. Explanations and "but..." come later, once they're regulated again.
Behind this sheet: Ruth Feldman's research on biobehavioural synchrony shows that the adult's nervous system lends its own regulation to the child before any words can — that's why this exercise always starts in your body, never in the speech.
My story for when mum and dad separate
Fill in the blanks to explain the separation in simple words and ease the most common worries.
Mum and dad have told us they're going to live in different houses. This is called a separation, and it happens to lots of families.
This didn't happen because of anything I did. Adults decide couple things; children are never the cause.
Mum and dad are going to keep loving me just the same, even if they don't live together anymore.
Some things might change, like the house where I sleep some days. What won't change is that I still have both people who look after me.
It's okay to feel sad, angry or confused about this news. I can tell dad, mum or another trusted adult how I feel, as many times as I need to.
Behind this sheet: Real honesty: research on bibliocounseling in divorce (Pehrsson and colleagues, 2007) finds mixed results, not a guaranteed solution — it can help open the conversation, but it doesn't replace accompanying your child in person through each doubt.
Friend repair plan
After a fight with a friend: what happened, what each of you needs, and what you'll do differently next time.
What happened?
Each of you tells your version, without interrupting the other.
What does each of you need?
An apology, some space, having a game or a turn respected.
What will you do differently?
One small, concrete idea for next time.
Behind this sheet: Extends to playground friendships the same framework we already use for siblings: research on peer conflict treats it as a real opportunity to practise social skills with guidance, not something to avoid at all costs.