Games That Grow the Mind: How Kids Learn Through CBT Play

When it comes to helping kids grow emotionally, therapy doesn’t always have to feel like therapy. In fact, some of the most powerful lessons about feelings, friendships, and self-worth can happen while tossing a ball, playing Candy Land, or even pretending to be royalty for a day.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) offers a playful yet purposeful framework for helping children understand themselves and the world around them. Through activities that focus on five key themes:  assessment, identifying and expressing feelings, coping with feelings, social skills, and self-esteem, kids can learn to recognize their emotions, build healthier habits, and see their own strengths shine.

Let’s dive into each theme and explore how simple, creative CBT-based activities can spark growth and resilience in young minds!

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1. Assessment: Laying the Groundwork for Growth

Before jumping into the fun stuff, therapists start with assessing their client, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring! Think of it as getting to know the child’s inner world: what makes them tick, what challenges they face, and what supports they have around them.

Assessments are a critical first step in understanding a child’s life stresses, family and peer relationships, coping skills, and self-esteem. When done creatively, assessment can feel more like play than questioning.

Examples of engaging assessment activities:

• Pin the Tail on the Donkey (with a twist!) – Instead of just playing for laughs, this game helps assess how a child interacts with peers and handles small frustrations. Therapists can observe cooperation, patience, and emotional regulation in action.

• People in My World – Kids draw or map out important people in their lives, such as family, friends, and teachers, helping therapists see their support network and understand family dynamics.

These playful moments help children express feelings naturally, giving therapists valuable insight into their emotional and social worlds.

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2. Identifying and Expressing Feelings: Expanding the Emotional Vocabulary

Ask a child how they’re feeling, and you’ll often hear “happy,” “sad,” or “mad.” But emotions are much more colourful than that! Helping kids recognize, name, and express a range of feelings builds emotional intelligence, a cornerstone of CBT.

When kids can label what they feel, they’re better able to manage those emotions and communicate with others.

Fun activity ideas:

• Hot Potato (Feelings Edition) – Pass a ball around while music plays. When the music stops, whoever’s holding the ball shares a feeling they’ve had recently and what caused it. This fast-paced game keeps energy high while encouraging self-expression.

• Candy Land Feelings Game – Each colour represents a different feeling or coping question. As kids move along the board, they reflect on experiences of joy, disappointment, anger, or pride, turning a simple game into a therapeutic conversation.

These activities create a safe, low-pressure environment for discussing emotions. And when practitioners model emotional honesty themselves, kids learn that all feelings, even the tough ones, are valid and manageable.

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3. Coping with Feelings: Building Emotional Resilience

Once kids can identify their emotions, the next step is learning how to cope with them in healthy ways. Many children develop unhelpful habits, such as withdrawing, lashing out, or avoiding challenges, when they don’t yet have the tools to manage stress or anger.

CBT-based coping activities help kids channel big feelings into constructive action, building emotional regulation and resilience over time.

Examples of relevant activities:

• The Clay Game (for anger) – Kids mold clay into shapes that represent their anger, then reshape or squash it to symbolize letting go. This tactile experience helps release tension in a safe, creative way.

• TROUBLE Game (for guilt or shame) – While playing, kids discuss times they felt “in trouble” and explore how to forgive themselves and make amends.

• Comfort Kits (for sadness or self-harming urges) – Kids create personalized boxes filled with calming items like stress balls, drawings, or comforting notes, creating effective tools they can use when difficult emotions arise.

Coping activities remind kids that while they can’t always control how they feel, they can control how they respond, and that’s a superpower worth celebrating.

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4. Social Skills: Learning to Connect and Belong

For many children, emotional struggles are closely tied to social challenges, such as feeling left out, misunderstood, or unsure of how to make friends. Social skills activities give kids the chance to practice communication, empathy, and teamwork in a fun and supportive setting.

These group-based exercises allow therapists to observe real-time interactions, give feedback, and guide children toward healthier relationship patterns.

Activities to try:

• Magic Carpet Ride – Kids work together to complete their booklets while going on an imaginative storytelling adventure. Stops on this ride include “The Land of Sharing,” The Land of Waiting Your Turn,” and “The Land of Being Polite.”

• Hugs Game – Kids learn to carefully follow instructions and work with one another, in order to win a prize! A valuable reminder of the importance of relying on their support networks when needed, both emotionally or physically, is also reinforced during this game.

By encouraging cooperation and assertiveness, social skills activities help kids feel more confident in group settings and less isolated in their everyday lives.

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5. Self-Esteem: Nurturing Confidence and Hope

At the heart of many behavioural or emotional challenges lies a damaged sense of self. Some children have internalized beliefs like “I’m bad” or “I’ll never be good enough.” CBT activities focused on self-esteem help kids rewrite those internal stories.

The goal? To help them see their worth, celebrate their strengths, and develop a more hopeful outlook.

Examples of useful activities:

• Royalty for the Day – Each child gets a turn being “royalty,” making fun and positive rules for the day, such as “Everyone must say one nice thing about themselves.” This playful role reversal boosts confidence and self-worth.

• The Perfection Game – Kids identify something they did well, rate it, and find one way to make it even better, promoting positive self-talk and flexible thinking instead of harsh self-criticism.

These activities are even more powerful when caregivers join in. When parents or guardians actively participate, by recognizing their child’s efforts, encouraging strengths, and fostering talents, self-esteem work becomes part of the child’s everyday life.

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Why These Activities Matter

Therapy for kids isn’t about “fixing” problems, it’s about planting seeds for emotional awareness, coping, connection, and self-love. CBT activities turn abstract concepts like “thoughts,” “feelings,” and “behaviours” into real, playful experiences that make sense to a child’s developing mind.

Through laughter, creativity, and reflection, children learn lifelong skills for navigating their emotions and relationships. And the best part? They often don’t even realize how much they’re learning, it just feels like having fun.

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Growing Stronger, One Game at a Time

From “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” to “Royalty for the Day,” CBT activities remind us that therapy with kids can be equal parts insightful and joyful. Each theme, from assessment to self-esteem, offers unique ways to help children explore who they are, understand how they feel, and believe in who they can become. Overall, when we nurture a child’s mind through these activities, these lifelong lessons and takeaways can be remembered long after the game is over.

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References

Lowenstein, L. (1999). Creative interventions for troubled children & youth (1st ed.). Champion Press.

– ISBN: 978‑0968519905