The Huge Bag of Worries

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Each of them has its own pros and cons, they may require certain skill sets and work in different contexts.

This may work well if your child is capable of using their imagination and visualize the concept of a worry box.

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Helping children to understand their emotions and worries can promote positive mental health. It also means that children can relate to others better, contributing to social skills. give them a physical way of getting rid of their worries, so they don’t need to carry them around anymore 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. Using the box and writing down your problems on paper also helps to turn something intangible into something they can actually touch, work with, and control. To make worry time an effective coping strategy, you need to turn it into a daily routine for your child.

Some kids may find it difficult to use visualization techniques and will benefit from using an actual box. Choose 10-15 minutes a day after school or after supper (but not right before bed) and write down when worry time is on the worry jar (e.g., 4 PM to 4:15 PM). You may want to set a timer or alarm to notify your child that worry time has begun. Once worry time starts, your child can open the worry jar, look inside, and proceed to worry all he or she wants. Your child can choose to review all the worries or focus on one or two each day. Depending on the child and your child’s developmental age, worry time can be spent alone or with you. To end worry time, have a timer or alarm sound to indicate that worry time is over for the day. Your child should close the jar to put his or her worries away. To help your child open up and discuss their emotions, you can start by asking your children how they are feeling; are they angry, sad, happy, scared or worried? You can then identify what might be making them feel this way. Reinforce the idea that it’s okay for your child to feel like this and that we all experience different emotions. By validating their feelings, it helps to build trust between you and your child. The next step is to schedule “Worry Time”. Worry time is a set time of day when your child has permission and is encouraged to worry as much as he or she wants. This specific time serves as another way to contain the worries. The key is to remember that when worry time is over, you and your child know that the worrying must end for the day. Although it may be hard for your child to let go of their worry, if you consistently emphasise that you are “holding” the worry and they don’t need to, they stand a good chance of being able to release it eventually. Variations on the Worry Box Worry JournalAs a child psychologist who specialized in work with anxious children, I often had kids write down their worries and put the paper in a worry box. The relief for most children was immediate because they could name their worry, write it down and then put the paper into a closed container. The worry was contained and therefore felt more manageable. Initially, I used a simple box with a lid and named it the Worry Box. With the writing of my children’s book on worry, the worry box was enhanced to be a child-created monster that can be as unique, ugly, crazy or silly as the child wants. Should you look at what your child writes? Technically, no. The box is meant to be a safe place where the child can write down anything and not have it “discovered.” Instead, you could set up a worry time when your child can discuss her worries with you. Worry time is also a form of containment because it restricts the time the child can dwell on her worries with an adult. You can set up the time specially for the child, say from 4:00 to 4:20 every afternoon. If at 4:20 your child is not through discussing her worries, ask her to write down the worries and put them into the worry box. Tell her that she can take them out to discuss tomorrow at the same time. Take out each worry from the box, read it, and spend some time reflecting on it together Allow your child to feel, analyze, and process the worry. Try to help them “detach” from the worry. For example, how might they help a friend with this same concern?

The Huge Bag of Worries is one of my favourite books. It is amazing for helping your child with their fears and worries.Knowledge is power. Understanding our worries means we can decide on an appropriate course of action, or simply share it with others and know that we are not alone. This is one of the key principles of cognitive behavioral therapy. Overall, you are teaching your child that they can be in charge of their worried thoughts, rather than the worried thoughts controlling them. Related Articles Place a dab of glue above the open mouth in the center of the box for each eyeball. Place the eyeballs on the box.

Sometimes, there is nothing we can do about the situations or events that trigger our emotions. In those cases, it may be better to accept those feelings and let them go. that are included. Therapist Aid has the exclusive right to reproduce their original works, prepareA 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. You can also help your children to relieve anxiety and stress with this Homemade Stress Ball activity. To make a worry box, all you need is a container (this could be a box, jar, or even a small bag) that can be decorated or personalised in any way your child prefers. They write or draw their worries on pieces of paper and place them inside the worry box. Your child will learn to “externalise” their anxious thoughts and feelings. It also also offers an opportunity for problem-solving, discussion, validation and emotional exploration.