Feelings games for kids work best when they are short, warm and never marked right or wrong. This page gives your child six gentle games in Hindi and English: a daily "How do you feel today?" check-in, a breathing buddy, a calm-down corner, twelve little "How would they feel?" stories, mirror faces with Golu and a kindness garden that blooms with every kind act. It is made for children from about 2 to 6, and every instruction is spoken, so your child does not need to read.
What these feelings games teach, and why it matters
Social-emotional learning for preschoolers has three simple parts. First, a child learns to notice and name a feeling in their own body ("I feel angry"). Second, they learn to read feelings in other people ("Kabir is sad because his ice cream fell"). Third, they learn what to do next: breathe, ask for a hug, say "please ask me first", or share. These games follow that order. The check-in and mirror faces build the naming part, the story game builds empathy, and the kindness garden and calm corner build the "what can I do?" part.
These skills matter more than they look. Children who can say "I'm cross" have less need to show it by hitting or throwing. Children who can guess how a friend feels share and take turns more easily. None of this needs a big curriculum. A few minutes of play, and a grown-up who talks about feelings in a calm voice, go a long way.
The six games on this page
1. How do you feel today? (feelings check-in)
Your child sees six big, soft faces: happy, sad, angry, scared, tired and excited. They tap the one that matches how they feel. Golu repeats the feeling and makes it okay: "You feel sad. It's okay to feel sad." Then Golu offers one calm idea that fits, such as a hug for sad, slow breathing for angry, or a rest and some water for tired. A button takes your child straight to the matching activity. Nothing is saved. The check-in is not recorded, not counted and never leaves your device.
2. Breathing buddy
Tara the turtle slowly grows for four seconds while a soft voice says "breathe in", then shrinks for four seconds for "breathe out". Gentle tones rise and fall with the breath. It runs for five breaths and needs no tapping once it starts. There is more about this on our page of calm down activities and breathing exercises for kids.
3. Calm-down corner
Six calm tools, each with a picture and a spoken line: hug a pillow, count slowly to five, drink water, draw a picture, ask for a hug, and tuck in like a turtle. Your child picks one, and a big "I feel better" button ends the visit whenever they are ready.
4. How would they feel?
This is the empathy game. Each round shows a short picture story: a friend shares a toy, an ice cream falls on the ground, a new baby comes home, a child cannot see Papa in a big shop and then Papa comes back, a block tower gets knocked down, thunder booms at night. Your child picks one of three faces. Every answer is accepted. If your child picks a different face from most children, Golu says "Yes, that could be. Some kids would feel excited", then gently lights up the face many children would choose and talks about why. Real people feel different things about the same event, and the game respects that.
5. Mirror faces
Golu makes a face (happy, sad, angry, scared, tired or excited) and asks your child to make the same one. The game never uses the camera. Instead, a note asks you to sit with your child in front of a real mirror and make the faces together. Faces made together are more fun, and no picture of your child is ever taken.
6. Kindness garden
Your child taps kind acts (share a snack, help tidy up, say thank you, comfort a friend, water a plant, give water to a thirsty bird) and a flower grows in the garden for each one. When the garden is full, the end card gives a real-world mission: do one kind thing today.
Feelings games by age: 2, 3, 4 and 5 year olds
| Age | What is typical | Best games here | Try at home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-3 | Tells happy from sad; angry and scared are starting; big tantrums are normal | Check-in, mirror faces, breathing buddy | Name their feeling in the moment in a calm voice |
| 3-4 | Gives simple reasons: "I'm sad because..." | All six; four story rounds | Ask "How does the rabbit feel?" in picture books |
| 4-5 | Comforts others; understands that people feel differently | How would they feel?, kindness garden | Talk about what could help a sad friend |
| 5-6 | Notices mixed feelings, like happy and nervous at once | Story game with more rounds, calm corner on their own | Draw today's feeling; plan one kind act a day |
The age setting (behind the grown-up check) changes how many story rounds and mirror faces your child gets. Younger children play shorter rounds; older children play up to eight stories.
How to talk about feelings with your child
The characters in these games talk the way child psychologists recommend, a style called emotion coaching. You can use the same four steps at home. We call them Notice, Name, Normalise, Next:
- Notice: "Oh, your tower fell down."
- Name: "You feel angry." In Hindi: "तुम्हें गुस्सा आ रहा है।"
- Normalise: "Everyone feels angry sometimes. It's okay to feel angry."
- Next: "Let's take a slow breath. Then we can build again."
Feelings are always allowed; some actions are not. "You are angry, and hitting hurts. You can stamp your feet or squeeze a pillow." Say it calmly and briefly. Long talks do not work in the middle of a meltdown, so save the chat for later, when everyone is calm.
Name your own feelings out loud too: "I feel tired after work. I'm going to sit for five minutes." Children copy what they see far more than what they are told.
Empathy activities for preschoolers, beyond the screen
The "How would they feel?" game is a starter. The real practice happens in daily life:
- Story pauses: stop on any page of a picture book and ask, "How does she feel? How do you know?" Point to the eyebrows, the mouth and the shoulders.
- People watching: in the park or the market, wonder aloud: "That baby is crying. Maybe the baby is hungry or tired."
- Feelings charades: take turns acting out a feeling with the whole body, while the others guess. It is a great way to practise the faces from our emotions for kids board.
- Puppet problems: two soft toys both want the same ball. Ask your child what the toys could do: take turns, share, find another ball, or ask a grown-up.
- Kindness jar: each time someone in the family does something kind, add a button or a stone to a jar. Count them on Sunday.
Kindness activities for kids at home
Kindness grows the same way as the flowers in the game: one small act at a time. For young children, kindness needs to be concrete. "Be nice" means little to a 3-year-old, but "give your sister one of your biscuits" is clear. Good first kind acts are saying thank you, helping to put away shoes, watering a plant, filling a bowl of water for birds in the summer and giving a hug to someone who is sad. Our good manners for kids game practises the magic words that go with these acts. When your child is kind, describe what they did rather than praising them as a person: "You gave Dadi your chair. That helped her rest." This kind of praise tells your child exactly what to do again.
Feelings in Hindi and English
All the words, buttons and spoken lines are in both languages. The feelings are happy (खुशी), sad (उदासी), angry (गुस्सा), scared (डर), tired (थकान) and excited (उत्साह). The Hindi uses forms like "तुम्हें डर लग रहा है" ("fear is happening to you"), which are the same for every child, whatever their gender. The अ+A button in the header sets the order of the two languages, or plays just one.
Privacy, safety and screen time
Feelings are private. This page never stores which face your child chooses, never uses the camera or microphone, and sends nothing to anyone. The only thing kept on your device is the marble count in the Goli Jar, and you can clear it in the settings. The stories are gentle on purpose: no hitting, no scary strangers and no shouting, and the "lost in a shop" story ends with Papa coming back and a simple safety rule (stay where you are and ask a safe helper). Our safety rules for kids page goes further.
Play for a few minutes with your child beside you, then move to a real mirror, a book or a hug. Children under 2 learn feelings best from your face and voice rather than a screen. If your child's feelings seem very big, very long-lasting or worrying in any way, talk to your paediatrician. This page is for play and learning; it is not a screening tool.
