Behavior worksheets

If you’re a therapist looking for free printable behavior worksheets for families, you’re in the right place. 

This guide to behavior worksheets gives mental health therapists a brief overview of behaviors in kids and teens and how to use the behavior worksheets with families. 

We’ve also included a free downloadable behavior worksheet PDF to save to your electronic health record (EHR) and use repeatedly with clients.

Understanding behaviors in kids and teenagers

While parents and families may come to therapy frustrated by their children's misbehavior, multiple factors must be considered when trying to understand what is driving the behavior. 

After all, behavior is a form of communication, and our job as therapists is to help everyone understand what’s happening. 

Below, we’ve listed examples of common behaviors in kids and teens, along with examples of what may lie beneath those behaviors.

Commons behaviors in children

Typical behavior in children includes:

• Infants may cry, fuss, and struggle with feeding and sleeping.

• Toddlers may throw tantrums, bite, hit, fall on the floor, wail, and cry.

• Preschoolers may fight with other kids over things like sharing toys, struggle with direction, or show signs of energetic or aggressive play. You might find them socially withdrawing, not participating in activities, or moving quickly from one activity to another. 

Problems may develop when kids don’t receive adequate attention and support to redirect behaviors positively and have not learned how to set boundaries. 

Teen behaviors

Adolescent brains work differently than adults. Teens may not think things through or problem-solve the same way as adults. That’s because their brains are not fully developed and don’t mature until early adulthood. 

While the amygdala—the brain region responsible for fight or flight and immediate response— develops early, the executive functioning part of the brain (the prefrontal cortex), which helps with reasoning and thinking through consequences, develops later. 

Common teen behaviors include:

• Heightened emotional responses: Teens may overreact, misread social cues and emotions, and struggle with emotional regulation, causing big reactions and feelings. 

• Poor impulse control: Adolescents are less likely to think before they act and more likely to act impulsively. For example, they may get into accidents, fights, and engage in other risky behaviors like substance use and unprotected sex.

• Moodiness: Teens may be argumentative, rude, defiant, and unpredictable. These are all signs of brain development controlling impulsivity. It may also be a sign they are striving for independence and autonomy by testing boundaries.

Behavior may be influenced by environmental factors and stressors, such as academic pressures, teen relationships, family conflict, and mental health issues.

Understanding a teenage client's unique situation, unmet needs, and environmental influences is important. By using the free printable behavior worksheets with clients, therapists can better understand their needs.

Examples of behavior worksheets

Understanding child and teen behaviors worksheets

These types of worksheets reinforce the understanding that challenging behaviors occur, and it is essential to consider factors that might be influencing that behavior. 

This can be done by asking clients questions like:

• What’s happening in their life right now?

• What happened before the behavior?

• What are they trying to communicate?

• What factors might have influenced the behavior, like sleep, screen time, outside time, movement, socialization, and developmental stage?

• Do they have an unmet need?

What is happening at school and in their peer groups?

Behavior worksheets for elementary students 

This behavior worksheet helps find positive solutions to behavioral problems in elementary students. 

For example, consider the following:

• How can you change the environment to help the child succeed?

• You can teach the child skills so they can better cope with situations, challenges, or stressors.

• Input from the family. For instance, what do they think about the situation or behavior and if it has happened before?

• If the problem happened at school, how did the teachers respond to the situation, and does the child need adaptations to their school environment to succeed?

Skill teaching worksheets 

These behavior worksheets contain strategies to support the child, reinforce positive behaviors, and strengthen their bond with caregivers to succeed at home, in relationships, and in school. 

Tips include:

• Creating consistent routines that clearly define expectations and boundaries

• Giving positive feedback and reinforcement for good behavior

• Support children through transitions and teach or model how to handle routine changes

• Strengthening the caregiver relationship by talking about problems, giving feedback, and deepening a secure attachment

• Teaching emotional skills using worksheets like how to recognize emotions, identify their feelings using a feelings wheel, explore and maintain their boundaries, and develop emotional regulation skills

When and how to use behavior worksheets

You can download and use the free printable behavior worksheets in several ways.

For example, you can print and share the behavior worksheet with families to illustrate the factors to consider when understanding child behavior. 

Therapists can use the free printable behavior worksheets to empower families to identify areas where they can improve support for their children.

The family can also practice strategies between sessions and debrief at their next therapy appointment. 

Sources

• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. (2017). Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem-Solving, and Decision Making.

• Casey, B. J., & Jones, R. M. (2010). Neurobiology of the adolescent brain and behavior: implications for substance use disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

• Child Mind Institute. (2023). Complete Guide to Managing Behavior Problems. 

• Connecticut State Department of Education. (n.d.). TIP Sheet: Seek to Understand a Child’s Behavior. 

• Head Start. (2023). Understanding and managing Children’s Behaviors. US Department of Health and Human Services.

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