When I Have Big Feelings: Calming Strategies for Kids

Help children understand their emotions, build emotional regulation skills, and develop healthy coping strategies with this engaging social-emotional learning (SEL) picture book.

When I Have Big Feelings: Calming Strategies for Kids teaches emotional regulation, self-regulation, mindfulness, and coping skills through relatable characters and practical calming techniques that children can use at home, in the classroom, or during counseling sessions.

Big feelings are a normal part of childhood. Whether children feel angry, worried, anxious, frustrated, disappointed, embarrassed, excited, or sad, this reassuring book helps them recognize their emotions, understand how feelings affect their bodies, and choose healthy ways to calm themselves.

Through diverse, everyday experiences, children learn to:

• Recognize and name their emotions
• Understand body signals connected to feelings
• Develop emotional awareness and self-regulation
• Build resilience and confidence
• Practice kindness, problem-solving, and positive decision-making
• Strengthen emotional intelligence and coping skills

Children are introduced to a variety of evidence-informed calming strategies that support emotional regulation and executive functioning, including:

• Belly Breathing
• Box Breathing
• Five Finger Breathing
• Figure 8 Breathing
• Stuffy Buddy Breathing
• Smell the Soup, Cool the Soup Breathing
• Positive Self-Talk
• Mindfulness using the SLOW Method
• Gratitude and Favorite Memories
• Feel-Good Pictures
• Nature, movement, music, and calming spaces

These simple, developmentally appropriate techniques are drawn from evidence-based practices commonly used in social-emotional learning (SEL), mindfulness education, co-regulation, trauma-informed practice, and child mental health supports. They help children develop lifelong emotional regulation skills while encouraging self-awareness, resilience, and healthy emotional expression.

Perfect for children ages 2-9, this book helps young readers navigate common childhood experiences including friendship challenges, anxiety, disappointment, frustration, sibling conflicts, performance worries, sports setbacks, and overwhelming emotions.

An excellent resource for:

• Parents and caregivers
• Teachers and classroom libraries
• School counselors and school psychologists
• Child psychologists and therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Social workers
• Speech-language pathologists
• Early childhood educators
• Homeschool families
• Calm corners and regulation stations
• SEL lessons and character education programs

Whether you're looking for a social emotional learning book, a mindfulness book for kids, a calm down book, a resource for teaching coping skills, breathing exercises for children, emotional regulation, self-regulation, or anxiety management for kids, When I Have Big Feelings provides practical tools that children can return to again and again.

This comforting picture book reminds children that every feeling is welcome, every emotion has a purpose, and every child can learn strategies to calm their body, regulate their emotions, and thrive.

All feelings are okay and every child can learn the skills to feel safe, calm, confident, and ready to learn.