Make Brave Talking Fun with Bravery Bingo

June 2023

Dear SM Community,

One of our favorite ways to make brave talking practice more fun is to turn it into a game! Bravery Bingo is an approach that can be used in therapeutic contexts (e.g., individual therapy sessions or group treatments), but can also be implemented easily by caregivers at home. This chart provides many ideas for brave talking challenges, but can be personalized based on your child’s activities and interests.

For example, instead of conducting a survey about favorite animals or favorite colors, your child may prefer to conduct a survey about favorite video games or favorite superheroes. Instead of inviting a friend over for pizza, your child may prefer to invite a friend over for a taco party or movie night. In fact, involving your child in personalizing their Bravery Bingo challenges can help make the activity more engaging for them and increase their motivation to participate.

You can further help motivate your child to complete Bravery Bingo challenges by pairing them with rewards or prizes. For some children, it may be reinforcing enough to put a special sticker on each completed box, and for other children, some of the challenges may be intrinsically motivating (e.g., getting to do something special with a friend, getting a treat). However, if your child is just starting out in their bravery practice, or working hard to tackle advanced goals, they may benefit from more targeted reinforcement. For example, you may decide to give your child a token for each box completed, which they can “trade in” for an agreed upon prize or privilege after collecting a certain number. Alternatively, you may allow your child to earn a small prize after completing each row or column and decide to do something special or have a “bravery celebration” when the whole board is done.

Importantly, when planning the details of each challenge, make sure that your expectations for your child are achievable and consistent with their goals and progress. As a caregiver, you should consider how much scaffolding your child will need to be successful in each activity. Each of the tasks in Bravery Bingo chart can be modified to make them easier or more challenging depending on your family’s individual needs. The chart below provides some examples of how the same tasks can be structured differently.

Check out our website for additional Bravery Bingo boards as well as a blank board you can print and fill out at home:

Rachel A. Merson, PsyD.
President, SMA Board of Directors