Calm-Down Choice Board
A menu of calming choices your child can pick from when feelings get big — built together, at a calm moment.
- Category · Big Feelings & Emotional Regulation
- Emotional Regulation Resource
- Ages · Early childhood · Elementary · Tween
- Home · School
A calm-down choice board is a menu: pictures of the things that help your child feel steadier — a hug, a drink of water, a quiet corner, a squeeze, three breaths. When feelings get big, your child picks from the menu instead of having to invent a strategy in the moment.
Who it may help
- Children who get overwhelmed and cannot think of what would help.
- Children who do better with a small number of clear choices.
- Any family that wants a shared plan for hard moments.
Build it at a calm time
- List four or five things that genuinely help your child settle — ask them what feels good.
- Put one picture or word per choice on the board.
- Practice using it when things are calm, not only in a crisis.
Use it gently
- Offer the board, do not force it: “Your feelings are big. What would help?”
- Accept whatever choice your child makes, even if it is not your favorite.
- A choice board is not a reward system and not a consequence — it is a tool.
The blank version lets you build the board from your own pictures and words. The Toolkit Plus version personalizes it with your child’s photo and their exact calming strategies.
Versions include picture plus word, picture-only, a blank version to build your own, and a personalized Toolkit Plus version.