The Feelings Habit Animal Quiz comes from the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids, Volume 1. This page shares the full Feelings Habit Animal Quiz and its results, with a link to the digital version.

Six simple questions can give kids and grown-ups clues about their feelings habits. Even though the questions are simple, our responses can be varied. You might have multiple responses to a single question because part of you feels one way, and another part of you feels a different way.

Here’s a personal example of having multiple emotions in response to a situation: When my husband gets very busy with work and doesn’t have time to spend with me, a part of me feels indifferent or even happy. His busyness gives me time work on my own projects and do whatever I want to do. However, another part of me thinks that he doesn’t love me. The second part is a small, child-like part of me that is not rational, but it is still there. So if, “Your friend is too busy to play with you” were a question on the quiz, I would put two answers (“I don’t care” and “I think they don’t like me”) because both are aspects of my internal response.

© 2024 Jamie Lynn Tatera. From the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids, Volume 1.

If you didn’t yet take the 6-question Feelings Habit Animal quiz, I’d invite you to do so now. Answer the questions below as you would have when you were a child, and discover your childhood feelings habit animal. Then take it with your child and get curious how each of you would respond now. Many of us have more than one feelings habit, so if you write down your responses (a, b, c, d and/or e) on a piece of paper as you go along, you will get a fuller picture of your feelings habits, which might include multiple animals.

Choose the option(s) that best describes how you would respond to each situation below. There is no right or wrong answer, so just choose what seems true for you. It’s okay to pick more than one answer for a question. If none of the answers fit, you can write your answer under “e” other.

1. Your friend doesn’t play with you during recess. Do you…

a) Think about it the rest of the day
b) Get really mad or mope and feel sad
c) Tell yourself that you don’t care
d) Think that your friend doesn’t like you anymore
e) Other _____________________

2. You did poorly on a test that you studied for. Do you….

a) Keep thinking about it over and over
b) Get really frustrated or disappointed
c) Convince yourself that it doesn’t matter
d) Think that you’re not a good student
e) Other ____________________________

3. Your parent yells at you because you are running late for school or for some other reason. Do you…

a) Think about it at school
b) Yell back at your parent or start crying
c) Ignore your parent
d) Tell yourself you’re a bad kid
e) Other ________________________

4. If your friend was feeling sad, would you…

a) Keep asking them why they are sad
b) Feel really sad because they are sad
c) Pretend like you don’t notice
d) Wonder if you did something to make them sad
e) Other ________________________

5. You feel upset and your friend or parent asks you what’s wrong. Do you….

a) Tell them detailed stories about what happened
b) Let all your feelings come spilling out
c) Shrug your shoulders and say you’re fine
d) Not tell them because you don’t want them to feel bad, too
e) Other _____________________________________

6. A friend or sibling is better than you at something that you have been trying hard to improve. Do you…

a) Keep thinking about how they are better than you
b) Feel very angry or disappointed that you can’t level up
c) Tell yourself that you don’t really care about being good at the activity anyways
d) Tell yourself that you shouldn’t feel jealous
e) Other _____________________________________

About This Quiz:

The Feelings Habit Animal Quiz was created by Jamie Lynn Tatera and comes from the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids, Volume 1. This page shares the original quiz as an educational resource. Please include attribution and a link back to this page when referencing this work.

Often kids (and grown-ups) prefer to take the quiz digitally. The digital quiz linked into the image below includes pictures for each quiz response, which makes it more engaging for young learners. 

A printable version of this quiz will be available in the future for classroom, therapy, and family use.

Count up the number of different letters that you chose in the quiz. Whichever letters were most common for you, please know that you are not alone! However you respond to your emotions, it makes sense, and there are others who feel like you.

The quiz results for the five feelings habit animals are described below (four core habits, plus a fifth that represents a mix).

Beaver

If you chose mostly A’s, your feelings habit animal is a beaver. Emotions can be sticky for you. Your mind replays situations over and over. A sticky mind can be tricky, but it can also be STRONG.

Bear

If you chose mostly B’s, your feelings habit animal is a bear. You feel BIG feelings. It’s healthy to feel our feelings, but big feelings can sometimes be hard to manage. Being sensitive can also be a gift.

Chameleon

If you chose mostly C’s, your feelings habit animal is a chameleon. Sometimes your feelings hide, or you distract yourself from them. Avoiding feelings can cause problems over time, but shifting your focus can also be helpful.

Deer

If you chose mostly D’s, your feelings habit animal is a deer. You sometimes think it’s not okay to feel your feelings. Shame can make you feel bad about yourself, but caring deeply is a strength.

Dragon

If you chose mostly E’s, you might have a mix of different ways you respond to feelings. It’s common for feeling habits to be tricky in some ways and helpful in other ways.

How do you normally respond to your feelings? It’s common for our habits to be tricky in some ways and helpful in other ways.

When adults learn about their feelings habit animals, they often want to be handed a “how to solve my feelings habit animal” prescription. Many adults view their feelings habit animals as a problem needing to be solved. I haven’t encountered the same response from most kids. Kids generally appreciate having a playful way to describe their feelings habits, and they like knowing that they are not alone in having these habits.

Taking this quiz with a child offers a way for grown-ups and kids to identify their habits and can facilitate a caregiver-child connection. Helping kids understand that they are not alone in having a hard time with emotions creates an environment where adults and kids can learn and grow side-by-side.

Knowing we are not alone when things go wrong is one of 5 resilience habits that I teach to kids in the two-volume Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids series and my parent-child classes.

You might also want to take the Resilience Animal Quiz with your kids. This quiz helps kids (and us adults) consider the 5 habits that can help us cope when things go wrong.

My feelings habit animals are a bear, a beaver, and a deer. I am a very sensitive person, and my brain can be very sticky. I am also prone to feeling shame about all sorts of things (goes along with the sensitivity and sticky brain). These habits can be liabilities, and they can also be gifts. I wouldn’t be the teacher I am today without my unique blend of feelings habits.

What about you, what are your feelings habit animals? If you’re willing to share your habit animals in the comments, it can help us all feel connected. Remembering that we are not alone in our struggles is a kindness that can contribute to resilience over time.

Wishing you light and love,

Jamie Lynn

© 2024 Jamie Lynn Tatera. The Feelings Habit Animal Quiz is excerpted from the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Workbook for Kids, Volume 1.