Worry Eaters

A range of stuffed animal characters who like nothing more than feasting on children's worries or nightmares.... um yes please!  My first thought when I saw this product was 'Genius! Why didn't I think of that!'  My second thought, 'How perfect would this be for Thomas and other children suffering from anxiety.' I bought one immediately.

Thomas loved the silly looking thing, but was a little hesitant to say his fear out loud, unzip the worry eater and put the paper inside his mouth, but once he got over the initial hesitation, he thought it was hilarious.  We have had our worry eater for about 8 months now and I have to say, he has eaten his share of worries and I have learned a lot!  It has helped me understand more of his specific worries, since I help him write them down.  It has also helped him feel like his worry has been understood by me and sometimes he is even willing to have a discussion about it.  Of course, it is not going to always "cure" the worry, but it can help children to feel the worry has been acknowledged and given to someone else to worry about- kind of like a waste bin for your problems!

We usually go on with life and forget about the worry eater for a while. Yesterday when we were playing with some of his stuffed animals together, I noticed there was a paper in there.  We pulled it out and it was from the beginning of September.  It read, 'I am afraid to play soccer.'

"Mom I'm not afraid to play soccer now.  I love it!"  Thomas said loudly.  He couldn't believe that he was so scared in the beginning of the season.  It led to a discussion about how trying new things can be scary, but overtime you may realize that it is something you like, yada, yada, yada.  You get the point.  Some critics think it encourages children to dwell on their anxieties, but I disagree.  I feel that it empowers children to say their worries out loud and in a way tell the worry that 'You are not going to have control over me.'

Thomas brought his to show-n-tell last last school year and the teacher came up to me after school to tell me that it was a HUGE hit with the kids.  The next day two parents approached me to say their child was telling them all about Thomas's worry eater too.  We often forget that children have worries just like adults and this little monster has not only been a fun toy for Thomas, but also a great coping tool.