Peekamind Play now

Feelings games for kids

Naming feelings is a big step for young children. When they can see happy, sad, angry or scared in a face, they understand other people better, and find it easier to talk about their own feelings.

In our feelings games, children read the feelings on friendly faces, then work out how a friend might feel when something happens: a balloon floats away, a surprise party starts, a thunderstorm rumbles.

Feelings games

What your child learns

  • Recognizing feelings in faces: happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised and sleepy
  • Learning words for feelings
  • Understanding what can cause a feeling
  • Empathy: imagining how someone else feels

Tips for parents

  • Name your own feelings out loud: “I feel frustrated because the bus is late.”
  • When you read a story together, pause and ask how a character might feel.
  • Make faces in a mirror together and guess each other’s feelings.

Feelings: questions from parents

When do children learn to name feelings?

Many children use words like happy and sad from around 2 to 3, and recognize angry and scared soon after. Understanding what can cause a feeling, and that other people can feel differently, develops between about 3 and 6.

Why is it important for children to name their feelings?

Children who can name a feeling find it easier to tell you how they feel instead of showing it through tantrums, and to understand how others feel. Naming a feeling is a first step toward managing it.

How can I help my child understand feelings?

Name feelings in everyday moments, both yours and theirs: “You look frustrated. That tower was tricky!” Talk about how characters feel in stories, and make faces in the mirror together.

More to learn

  • Colors Pop balloons to find and name colors.
  • Numbers Count friendly critters and find the number.
  • Shapes Sort flat shapes and spot 3D ones.
  • Letters Find big and little letters.
  • Weather Get Bear ready for sun, rain, snow and wind.
  • Animals Guess the animal from its shadow.
  • Music Play back tunes on a rainbow xylophone.