The Very Hungry Worry Monsters

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Using this book would be a good way to introduce a worry monster for the first time. You could also just use it alongside your worry monster practice, to help and strengthen the children engagement with the experience. If you have recorded your worries, either as pictures or in writing, then it is definitely beneficial to return to that either the next day or a few days later. The Worry Monsters initiative is a joint scheme with the council’s public health team and mental health charity the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust.

Once your child has named their worry monster, have them draw a picture of what they imagine it looks like. Encourage them to be creative and take their time, adding colors and details. Below is the worry monster, Sam, that my daughter drew in second grade. Hang this image in a visible location, reminding everyone in the home that the worry monster is the anxiety, not your child. Then secure them at the end with a rubber band or similar. You could draw faces onto the stress-balls with pens. When your child wakes they will see no worries left behind as the monster has eaten it and also you will be able to know what is worrying your child so you can help.This is a slight deviation from the original worry monster concept, but they really enjoyed using these when we made them. Or you may have come across slight variations that use different types of containers like jars. Those would be your Worry Jars, Feelings Jars, or Anxiety Jars. Leanne Manning, Oxfordshire County Council social worker , said: “I know one of the local children, Casey ( pictured below ). She loves her worry monster. It has pride of place in her bedroom, helping her and reducing anxiety.” This is not easy to do when you feel worried about something. Asking them to stop thinking about it may even make them more focused on the worries. They may feel it is an “unfinished business” or they may worry they will forget about it.

First, get the children all to think of something that might be worrying them. This can be a difficult concept, so don’t worry if it takes a few tries at this activity for them to ‘get’ it. Older children could of course write about their worries. Once again, when they are written down, they could post them into the monster’s mouth in a ceremonial way. 7. Return To Box Next Day This Canadian muggle might be a no-laugher (despite her energy vampire husband's jokesies), but Dyan's a fierce advocate for her two boys and passionate about all things hyperlexia and autism. In my worry management group, students create their own “worry monster” to represent the worries they have. They draw and name their worry monsters and verbalize the times at which the worry monster tends to come out. For example, a student might say, “My worry monster Harry comes out at night when it’s dark and there are noises outside my window.” So when I saw this amazing art activity from Liska at Adventure in a Box,I knew it would be great for worry group to teach students helpful strategies to manage worries. Lisa uses watercolors to make monsters, and I thought it would be perfect to make these while practicing controlled breathing. Worry Group Activity: Worry Monsters Teach Deep BreathingThere is also space for children to write about their feelings monster. Invite children to write about how their monster is feeling and make links to their own feelings and emotions. Have they ever felt the same way as their feelings monster? Shirley Nelder said: “I was talking to a friend about charitable causes, and she mentioned the worry monsters. After showing pictures of them to my daughter, who works with children, we came up with the idea of creating a crowd of ‘cuddlees’, which we’d donate to Oxfordshire County Council’s social care team. I can’t thank enough the dedicated volunteers who, in their own time, have createdthese wonderful characters; each one so different and individual.” How do you help the students in your worry group manage worries? Personifying worry or anxiety can help students to make their abstract experience of worry a little more tangible. When they can picture their worry monsters and know its name, they activate their logical thinking. Children in care and young people with a range of vulnerabilities and disabilities, in Oxfordshire, might be confronted by a hand-crafted monster when they next go into their living rooms.