Do you have your hope toolkit ready?
You’re probably prepared for all sorts of emergencies. I bet you have a first aid kit for scrapes, a medicine cabinet for unexpected fevers and colds, a spare tire in the car, and flashlights with fresh batteries for power outages. Our emergency kits help us feel secure, knowing we have the necessities ready anytime we need them.
But what about the emotional emergencies? Do you have the tools you need for the days when you or your kids feel discouraged, face a big setback, or for when the world just feels too heavy?
The Importance of Teaching Kids “Hoping Skills”
Life is full of ups and downs. At some point, we will all experience moments where hope feels hard to find. Whether it is in the wake of bad news, a health scare, or a tragedy in the community, we all need to know how to find hope in moments that feel hopeless. Teaching kids how to bounce back when life feels hard is one of the most valuable skills we can give them.
I call these hoping skills. They are the actions, practices, and beliefs that we use to create hope when life gets us down.
Hoping skills often look like:
- Finding the good, even when everything feels bad
- Setting small goals that lead to big changes
- Asking for help without shame
- Remembering times you’ve overcome obstacles
- Practicing kindness (for yourself and the people around you)
- Seeing failure as progress
- Believing that better is possible
- Using hopeful thinking
- Focusing on positive outcomes
Hope is more than just a fleeting feeling. It is an active skill. Like any skill, it has to be taught, practiced, and strengthened. Creating a hope toolkit is essentially about gathering the hope necessities before the problem strikes. This isn’t about ignoring hard things. It’s about intentionally growing your hope when life tries to destroy it.
If this idea of hoping skills is new for you, this free guide is full of fun, interactive worksheets to help kids learn and practice their hoping skills.
What is a Hope Toolkit?
A hope toolkit is a collection of physical items, resources, or even rituals that your family can turn to when someone is feeling anxious or overwhelmed.
These are tangible reminders that you have the strength to overcome obstacles and that better days are coming.
This tool isn’t a replacement for family support but a partnership. Instead of sulking in silence, every family member will know exactly where to turn when they need comfort or encouragement. Kids can use the tools to begin to process big emotions. Seeing them open the kit signals to parents that their kids could use a little emotional assistance. It’s a way to help build a culture of resilience in your home.
Think of it as emotional first aid. When someone has a bad day at school or work, you can “prescribe” something from the hope toolkit. Or, if you know a hard week is coming, you can use the hope toolkit as prevention.
This tool empowers family members to use healthy coping techniques, practice self-regulation, and gain support for their mental health and wellness on hard days.
What Goes in a Hope Toolkit?
Each family’s hope toolkit will be unique but here are a few basic materials you might want to include:
Step 1: Find a Special Container
The foundation of a great hope toolkit is a physical box or basket to hold your items. You could use a simple storage container, a decorative wooden chest, or even a shoebox that you decorate together as a family. The most important part is that everyone knows what it is and where to find it.
Step 2: Fill It With Hope-Building Resources
This is where everyone’s hope toolkit will look a little different. Inside your kit, you’ll want items that bring comfort, inspire, or even connect you to one another.
You could have:
A Library of Hopeful Stories
Books are one of the most powerful tools for building empathy and resilience. You could stock your toolkit with your favorite stories that always make you feel better on hard days. Here are a few of my favorite hope-filled books, in case you need ideas.
A “Connection Jar”
Write simple conversation starters on slips of paper and place them in a jar.
Include questions like:
- What was the bravest thing you did this week?
- Do you remember a time when someone was kind to you?
- How can you be kind to someone else today?
- What made you feel hopeful this week?
- What are three things you are thankful for?
These simple questions can shift the focus from problems to positives. Pull one out at the dinner table to deepen the conversation or give everyone a little pick-me-up. It is amazing how quickly an intentional question can shift the mood!
Art and Writing Supplies
Sometimes, it’s easier to express big feelings through art than through words. Include a notebook, affirmation coloring sheets, or an interactive journal. Add in some colorful pens, crayons, or even modeling clay.
When we can’t access the words to express how we feel, these tools give us time and space to process emotions without having to say a thing.
The Hope Meter
The Hope Meter is a simple visual tool that helps kids (and adults!) identify how they are feeling. If you are feeling great, it outlines ways to share your hope with others. If you are feeling down, it lists ideas to help you feel better fast. You can teach kids to use the Hope Meter on their own or make it a part of your family’s daily routine.
Your Anchor Box
Who says you can’t have a box in a box?
The general hope toolkit provides day-to-day resources while an anchor box is a curated collection of memories that ground your family in hope. It holds tangible proof of your past resilience, your love for one another, and the joy you’ve shared together. When you’re in the middle of a storm, an anchor box helps hold you steady. It reminds you of who you are and all you’ve already overcome.
Fill Your Hope Toolkit to Support Your Family’s Mental Health
What you put in your family’s hope kit is not limited to what you see on this list. You can fill it with anything that brings hope, inspiration, and strength in hard times. The entire point of this process is to prepare the items in advance. That way, when you or one of your kids notice they are feeling down, you already know where to go for support.
If you’d like some extra guidance for teaching your kids hoping skills, you’ll love this free guide!
It is full of worksheets, activities, and information that empowers kids, or even students, to strengthen their hoping skills.
Ultimately, tools like these aren’t a replacement for family support. They are a complement. Using physical items to help your family feel grounded is a great way to support their emotional well-being. What will you put in your hope toolkit?