20 Fun Trust Building Activities for Kids

Trust is the most important part of any relationship. If you find your kid shying away from trusting people around him or he wants you around him all the time, it is quite likely that your kid may be suffering from trust issues. There are many things that you can do to encourage your kid to trust people around him, and one of them is getting your kid involved in trust-building activities. If you feel that your kid needs to build trust in people so that he does not face any social or emotional issues later in life, you can involve your kiddo is some of these fun activities.

20 Amazing Trust Building Activities for Children

Usually, people associate trust-building with corporate retreats but is it seldom realised that these activities are a great way to build trust at any age! Here are some fun and exciting trust activities for kids that you can try!

1. The Buddy Walk Activity

An exciting group activity that helps instil the feeling of trust in the partner. Here is what you have to do:

Instructions 

1. Pair up kids, so that each kid has a partner.
2. Place obstacles like chairs, tables, toys, etc. randomly in the place the activity will be conducted.
3. Blindfold one kid in each pair. Let the other kid in the pair walk his buddy safely through the obstacles to the other side.
4. Once the pair reaches the other side, blindfold the other partner and let his partner walk him safely back to the other side.

2. The Trust Fall Activity

One of the most exciting and thrilling trust activities for preschoolers’, this activity can help in building confidence and trust in each other. This is what you need to do:

Instructions

1. Divide the kids into pairs.
2. Let one kid from each pair stand facing away from the partner and the other kid standing a few meters behind him as he faces his partner.
3. Ask the kid facing the other side to gently fall backwards and ask the partner to catch him as he falls.
4. As the kids start getting comfortable with each other, the distance between them can be increased gradually.
5. Change the partners’ places and repeat the activity.

3. Willow in the Wind Activity

This activity is a variation to the trust fall activity; however, this activity may get a tad bit trickier. The kids have to be vigilant and careful at all times. Here’s how to conduct this activity:

Instructions 

1. Make all the kids stand in a close circle as one kid stands in the middle.
2. The kid in the centre has to keep his body stiff.
3. The kid in the centre has to fall backwards in any direction, and the kids in the circle have to be ready at all times to catch their friend.
4. As they catch him, he should gently be pushed around the circle towards the other kids.

4. Draw the Twin Activity

This activity with pen and papers is great for building trust and understanding in kids. This is what has to be done:

Instructions 

1. Divide the kids into pairs.
2. Handover the paper, pens, and colours to everyone.
3. Now ask one partner from each group to draw anything they like while the other partners are made to sit at a distance.
4. Once they finish drawing, ask the other partner to sit with the drawing material and start drawing the same thing that their partner drew as their partner’s start giving them instructions.
5. The catch is not to give clear instructions and still help the partner copy the drawing.

5. The Helium Stick Activity

This exciting activity helps the kids to form strategies and trust each other. Here are the steps that you need to follow:

Instructions 

1. Make the kids stand in a circle with their hands extended in front, parallel to the ground.
2. Ask them to make fists with their hands as they extend only the index finger out.
3. You can place any object such as a stick, hula hoop, etc. on the index finger and ask the kids to lower that object to the ground gently.
4. This is a challenging activity as the kids are neither allowed to lose contact with the object nor drop it.

6. The Tie-Untie Activity

This thrilling activity is one of the most popular fun group engaging activities, which is also called Human Knot activity. Here are the directions for the same:

Instructions

1. Ask the kids to form a circle and stretch their arms in front as their hands touch each other’s hands.
2. Tell them to close their eyes and hold each other’s hands.
3. Ask them to open their eyes and form a circle without letting go off the knot or each other’s hands.

7. Pass The Hula Hoop Activity

One of the most engaging and exciting trust games for kids, this activity can help in building stronger and trusting bonds. These are some instructions that you need to follow:

Instructions 

1. Ask all the kids to form a circle.
2. Take a hula hoop and place it over the arm on any one child and then ask them to join their hands.
3. The kids have to think of ways to move the hula hoop from one child to another without letting go.

8. The Moth and the Bat Activity

One of the most fun trust exercises for children, this activity involves role-playing. Here are the rules that you need to keep in mind:

Instructions

1. Ask the kids to form a big circle.
2. Blindfold two kids and ask them to stand in the centre of the circle. One would act as a moth and the other as a bat.
3. The ‘Bat Kid’ will say ‘Bat’ loudly, to which the ‘Moth Kid’ will have to say ‘Moth’ aloud. They will keep repeating the voice commands until the bat catches the moth.

9. The Rush Hour Activity

Another activity that requires blindfolding to take the fun to the next level. This is what needs to be done:

Instructions 

1. Pair up kids and blindfold one partner.
2. Ask the other partner to navigate their partner through the traffic as the facilitator keeps announcing the traffic directions such as red light, school zone, speed breakers, etc.

10. The Four Up Activity

A great communicating and trust-building activity that requires kids to make strategies and plans. Here’s what you need to do:

Instructions 

1. Make the kids sit on chairs in a circle.
2. Ask them to act like beings from different planets and thus communicate only through signs and actions.
3. Four players will be standing at any given point of time, and only 10 seconds will be given to communicating with each other.
4. A fun activity for the kids to interact effectively.

11. Get to Know Your Balloons

A fun question-and-answer activity for kids, where children can write down fun questions to be answered by others in the room.

Instructions

1. Give each child a balloon and a blank piece of paper.
2. Write a fun question on the paper and put it in the balloon.
3. Blow the balloons up and toss them around the room.
4. When each child has caught one, pop it and have them answer the question aloud.

12. Line Up

This simple activity will help kids to get to know each other in a fun way.

Instructions

1. Ask the children to line up according to their birthdays.
2. Next, each child has to say their date of birth loud enough to be heard by others in the room.

13. Space Balls

A simple game that will make any day a fun day.

Instructions

1. Make the children stand in a circle.
2. They have to describe the weight, shape, and size of their imaginary space ball.
3. Next, they will pass their imaginary ball around the circle, and the next child must maintain the size and shape of the ball!

14. Relay Race

Relay races are fun games and great trust-building activities for children. Here are the instructions for the same.

Instruction

1. Children have to work together to pass the batons.
2. Make pairs of children and then make one from each pair stand before the starting mark.
3. The children have to run on whistle and pass the baton to their partner, who will be waiting for them at some distance.
4. The pair to reach the finishing point first will win the race.

15. The Marble Game

A fun game that will keep the kids busy for a while, while fostering bonding between them.

Instructions

1. Children will have a few marbles and a plastic tube each.
2. Working together, they have to ensure their marbles stay inside the plastic tubes.
3. Make sure that the children stand at different heights.
4. They must move the marbles around the circle without dropping them.

16. Rock, Paper, Scissors, Tag

A fun and simple game for children that requires no materials.

Instructions

1. Break children into pairs and line up facing each other.
2. When you say, go, opposing members face off in a game of rock, paper, scissors.
3. Whoever wins must chase and tag the other team member before the time runs out.

17. Marshmallow Tower

This activity is perfect for kids as it requires them to work on collaboration skills by having teams compete to build the tallest tower.

Instructions

1. Give every team an equal number of marshmallows and toothpicks.
2. Give teams 15-30 minutes to design and assemble their towers before measuring.
3. The team with the tallest tower wins the game.

18. Cup Stacking Game

Children love to see adults playing with cups. So, here is a game for them using the cups that are great for team-building activities.

Instructions

1. Using cups, string, and rubber bands, have groups of 3 children work together to stack the cups into a pyramid.
2. Give the children 10 minutes to stack up the cups.
3. The group with the highest pyramid at the end wins the game.

19. Hula Hoop Pass

A great team activity to practice and work on listening, coordinating, and strategising skills at the same time.

Instructions

1. Make the children stand in a circle, joining their hands.
2. Ask them to work together to get the entire circle through the hula hoop without breaking their hand chains.

20. The Human Knot Game

We all played this game in our childhood, and now, it’s time to introduce the same to our little ones.

Instructions

1. Children should stand shoulder to shoulder in a circle and put their hands in the middle.
2. Then they have to grab a random hand and move around.
3. Next, they have to attempt to unknot the group without letting go of their partners’ hands.

FAQs

1. When Does a Child Start to Trust?

Children begin learning about trust and distrust around age three but cannot apply that sense of distrust until around age five.

2. How Can I Teach My Child to Trust?

To teach your child about trust, you must cuddle, talk, play, sing and read to them. Everyday nurturing interactions strengthen attachment, and children stimulate brain development.

Try some of these fun and entertaining trust-building activities with your kids. However, make sure that you choose age-appropriate activities for your kid. Also, if at any given point of time, you feel that any kid is uncomfortable or nervous, do not force or pressurise the child to participate. The main aim is to facilitate trust and bonding and not scare the kids; therefore, make sure that you provide a secure and conducive environment for the activities!

Also Read:

Team Building Activities for Kids
Exciting Creative Activities for Children
Group Games and Activities for Kids
Amazing Extracurricular Activities for Children