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Bulletin Boards for Coping Skills

Coping skills are essential to your quality of life, dictating how well you are able to roll with life's adversities and stresses. Coping skills are typically developed over time and are an important part of creating resilience in youth, however these skills can also be taught to adults as well. Bulletin board displays are one way of teaching new skills, creating a non-threatening, visual aid to learning. Bulletin boards are also an effective way of displaying information on resources for children and youth in crisis.

  1. Young Minds

    • Childhood is a time of growth and cognitive development, so a bulletin board intended for young children should reflect their current stage of development. Avoid abstract concepts in favor of concrete concepts. You can put up pictures of faces displaying a variety of emotions, and ask young kids to identify the emotion that matches the face. This bulletin board activity opens a dialogue with children about emotions, teaching them to identify feelings.

    Pre-Teens

    • The Coping Skills For Kids website suggests that the preteen period of development is a good time to teach coping skills. During this period children develop markedly in their cognitive, behavioral and social spheres. Engage preteens in a bulletin board poster contest with coping, stress and the brain as themes. This activity teaches youth about automatic responses while encouraging them to explore coping tools, creating visual aids to teach what they have learned to their peers.

    Older Adolescents and Beyond

    • In later adolescents and early adulthood, major development occurs in the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that governs thoughtful decision making and coping strategies. Older adolescents typically have greater ability to link abstract thoughts and are better able to understand consequences of their actions. Bulletin boards for adolescents might provide concrete suggestions as well as information on how the brain works under stress. They can also describe the function and effects of cortisol, as well as how a teenager might positively cope with stress. These bulletin boards might also address the potential dangers of using harmful coping strategies, such as alcohol and drugs.

    Virtual Bulletin Boards

    • Virtual bulletin boards, located at websites such as AnxietyPanicSupport.com, provide the ability to post information and resources in one confidential location. You can use a virtual bulletin board to helpful links and articles on coping strategies. Visitors to the bulletin board can post questions, answer questions, and post experiences regarding what works for them. This provides an interactive forum for adults to gain support and new coping strategies.

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