Background: We all need strategies to help us when we feel down, worried or when something bad or difficult happens. Having strategies that we know work for us are useful as we can draw on these during these difficult times. Sometimes our coping strategies are also preventative strategies that increase our wellbeing therefore we can still use these everyday if we are feeling ok. Coping strategies will fall into 2 categories – practical and expressive, however the younger children don’t necessarily need to know this, as long as they have a range of ways to cope. Next week the children will learn positive ways to think that help them to cope, however this week is just about finding positive things to do that help them to cope.

Lay out the Monkey Feeling Cards (worried, stressed, angry, sad, grumpy, annoyed, nervous, and frustrated). Brainstorm different ways we can help ourselves feel better when we feel these feelings or when something bad or difficult happens in our lives. Children can share what they do already to make themselves feel better. Share an appropriate example of what you do to cope when you feel stressed or worried and introduce the term ‘coping strategy’. 

Put out the ‘Coping Cards’. Children choose coping strategies from the cards that they already do to make themselves feel better or know that they make them feel better and share these with the group. Children choose any extra cards of the things they think would help them in the future. Children list their strategies to help them feel better after they have listened to everyone. They can write these on the ‘My Favourite Coping Strategies’ sheet or just tick next to the ‘Cool Coping Strategies poster’ that they can take home. Children share what they wrote/chose as their favorite coping strategies.

Problem Solving Strategy:

Explain that an effective way to help solve a problem if they are worried about something, don’t know how to handle a difficulty or things feel overwhelming or scary, is to use the Problem-Solving Strategy worksheet / framework. Explain that there are some things that we worry about that can be solved and there are some things that can’t be solved, but we can still use coping strategies to help us feel better and lessen our worry.

Use the Problem-Solving Strategy worksheet to go through an example of how to solve a problem. Use the Problem-Solving Strategy worksheet that is suitable age group you are working with. For younger children use the simple Problem-solving worksheet where children can just write each idea or solution in 4 separate boxes. Alternatively, just use butchers paper to brainstorm solutions.

To explain the problem-solving process, ask if anyone is happy to volunteer a current problem that can be worked on as a group using the strategy. If no-one volunteers, then use a simple everyday problem that children would be familiar with such as being left out of a game or people playing roughly on the playground. Then go through the process:

• Define the Problem.
• Brainstorm different possible solutions to solve the problem on butcher’s paper.
• For older children use the worksheet where they can write next to each solution how each idea or solution might help the situation or might make it worse.
• Looking at the different solutions decide which one might be best to use and write down their best solution.
• Children can also include coping strategies that will help them to feel better.
• Explain that some things just can’t be solved or there is nothing we can do about it ourselves. Things are then best dealt with by accepting what the situation is, even if it feels really hard and talking to someone about how you feel.
• To give an example of acceptance, give the example that they might not have been chosen to be in a certain basketball team. The team has already begun training for this season and there is no way that they are able to join the team this year.
• Accepting that they have not been chosen and talking to someone about how they feel will help, and then also working towards a goal of getting better at basketball will also help them to feel better. Using a variety of coping strategies will also help them to feel better about not being chosen. They may be able to write down possible solutions so they can get better at basketball such as training a few times a week, asking advice, getting fitter or trying out for another team.