Use it during a wellbeing session, counselling appointment, classroom pastoral check-in, social work visit or calm moment at home when a child or teen is stuck in anxious, self-critical or negative thinking. The worksheet follows a clear CBT thought-challenging process, helping young people move from “I can’t do it” or “everything will go wrong” towards a more realistic and helpful way of thinking.
The activity is organised into four practical steps: “Catch it”, “Check the facts”, “Change it” and “Put it into action”. Young people first write the unhelpful thought in a thought bubble, then look for evidence that the thought is true and evidence that it may not be true. A further prompt asks whether there is another way to look at the situation, which is useful for cognitive restructuring, reframing thoughts and building emotional regulation skills.
The worksheet includes child-friendly examples of common unhelpful thoughts, such as “I always mess up”, “No one likes me”, “This is too hard”, “I can’t do it” and “Everything will go wrong”. It also provides helpful thought starters including “I can do hard things”, “I’m doing my best”, “Mistakes help me learn”, “It’s okay to take my time” and “I can handle this one step at a time”, making it easier for children and teenagers who struggle to generate alternative thoughts independently.
The final section encourages action planning by asking for one small step the young person can take now that they are thinking in a more helpful way, plus when they will do it. That makes the printable CBT tool suitable for anxiety support, school counselling, therapy homework, mentoring, social emotional learning, early help work and one-to-one sessions with children or teens who benefit from structured prompts rather than open-ended discussion.
The style is simple, friendly and accessible, with space for writing directly on the page. It may be particularly useful for primary-aged children, older children and younger teenagers who are learning that thoughts are not facts and that they do not have to believe every thought they think. Created by Edita Stiborova.
