It tells the story of a little girl who carries around a huge bag filled with worries. (‘The metaphor is little monsters). Worry boxes are containers into which children can post their anxious thoughts. Children can find them soothing because they:

In my clinical work, I have found that being creative and making the strategies concrete and come to life improves their effectiveness and usefulness, especially with young children. I encourage you to do the same in helping your child. The Worry JarOne of the activities I like to do after reading the book is to give a child a bag and using potatoes add them to the bag one at a time so they get a real feel of how worries can weigh you down. After putting a few potatoes in then take one out at a time as you offload those worries to to someone. The bag feels lighter and you can feel lighter and happier. While the box is drying, cut the white foam paper to look like teeth. You can make them square or triangular. We chose the triangular ones.

P.P.S. Sometime ago I wrote the foreword and collaborated with author Elaheh Bos on A Spot of Blue, a story for young children about anxiety, in which this coping technique and others are shared. You may want to take a look! Children will feel more in control (and have fun) if they are the ones to make their own container to hold their worries. You can make a worry box out of any kind of container, such as a tissue box, a chip container or a tin can. This worry box is designed to look similar to the big green Worry Monster in the author’s book. The difference between a worry box and a Worry Monster is that the worry box holds your worries for you (a good thing) and the Worry Monster takes the worries in so he can grow bigger and scare you more (not so good). The children can even decide to tear it up and use it alongside this Throw Your Worries Away activity. How can I help my child to talk about their emotions? A simple but effective variation on the worry box is the worry journal, which encourages children to record their worries and anxieties as they come up daily. This approach creates a more structured system to deal with anxious feelings. Very often I find that children take on adult worries. For example, they may worry about a parent’s health or their family’s financial difficulties.that are included. Therapist Aid has the exclusive right to reproduce their original works, prepare

In this article I will guide you through the process of creating a worry box with your child, and share how this coping mechanism can significantly reduce anxiety levels. As you explore this powerful tool, your child will learn that learning to manage their your worries effectively leads to increased wellbeing and a healthier state of mind. What is a Worry Box? If you are looking for mindfulness crafts to do some work with your kids or students this can be a great project. You can also use a jar, an envelope, or any container that serves the same purpose of storing worries away.Express their feelings by writing them on a paper (they can also make a drawing, or you can help them write it down) One of the first things I tend to put in place with these children is a worry box. Worries can be put into the box at any time, but it’s important that before bed, your child reflects on anything that might be bothering them, and places these thoughts in the worry box. The worry is put aside until the next day.