Your monster could be any color and have anything added to it. There are endless ideas on the web if you look under “monsters made out of tissue boxes” or just DIY monsters. Let this monster be your child’s creation. The important concept is to have a mouth or a slot where your child can insert a paper with a written or drawn worry. How to use a worry box However, there are different approaches to the worry box concept that can be adapted to suit children’s different needs and preferences. Park feelings or emotions that they may not be able to cope with at the present moment until they are ready to deal with them. As a parent, you also need to be a skilled listener. Listen carefully to your child’s worries and don’t dismiss them or belittle them (e.g. “don’t be silly”).

As parents we need to recognise when they have taken on an adult worry. We need to remove this burden from them. For example, we can say: “this is something that I am dealing with, so you don’t have to”. 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? 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 Jar At my clinic, Everlief, a very high percentage of the children and young people I work with have sleep difficulties. Often the main cause is worry.You can learn to manage your mind effectively to minimise stress and anxiety. You do not need to let your worries control or define you. 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. Place them on the inside of the box on the top and repeat for the bottom. You’ll want enough space to have an “open” mouth, showing teeth.

Worry boxes are containers into which children can post their anxious thoughts. Children can find them soothing because they: 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. Similarly, you may also notice that your child decides to skip worry time some days as he or she feels they don’t need it. This is another sign of success to be reinforced and recognized!Some kids may find it difficult to use visualization techniques and will benefit from using an actual box. It tells the story of a little girl who carries around a huge bag filled with worries. (‘The metaphor is little monsters). Sometimes when we feel worried, frustrated, or overwhelmed it may help us to store our problems away. Older children will also benefit from using a worry box to make sense of what’s on their mind, and this will help prevent rumination. There’s something about physically writing or drawing your thoughts that helps is process them in a much more helpful way, than if they stay in our heads.