Use examples of kids who may be mean or bossy at school to illustrate the idea of the worry monster in their head. Just as you would walk away from the bully at school, and not listen to them, you do not have to listen to the one in your head. Naming the Worry Monster

A good activity, then, is to take the children on a scavenger hunt with one of the purposes being to find ‘food’ for the worry monster. The idea behind all these activities is not that convince children that worries don’t exist. Far from it! It is more to get them to think about and process worry in a logical way. We’ll share a tutorial for a fun monster worry box in the next section, but let’s be clear, this technique is equally effective with any box you may have lying around in the house.Year two pupil Millie said: “I like the Worry Monster because no one can see your worries and you can just write it down and the Worry Monster will gobble it all up.” Colleen Wildenhaus is the mother of a 18-year-old girl who suffered from severe anxiety and OCD for most of her life. Today, she manages it well and is attending college as a freshman, something we didn't believe was possible given her intense mental health needs. Colleen's blog Good Bye Anxiety, Hello Joy shares with readers the journey her family takes to enjoy the small moments each day, keeping the beast of anxiety from taking away the joy of life. She shares real life experiences that have helped her daughter manage her anxiety and OCD as well as vulnarbale posts about what it feels like to move through these daily challenges.

This feelings monster worksheet is a lovely way to encourage children to talk about feelings and emotions. For all of us, dealing with worry required lots of repeated thinking about key issues. 8. Homemade Stress Ball Monsters First, get the children to lie on the floor and close their eyes. You could potentially put someone relaxing music on. She has a B.A.H. in Psychology, an ATCL diploma in Recital for Solo Piano, an RCM Grade 10 Piano certificate, and an RCM History & Theory: Intermediate certificate.

A child with perfectionist tendencies starts to feel anxious over making a mistake. The child says to the worry, “Mr. Perfect, I know you are trying to tell me mistakes are bad but I know that it is ok to make a mistake. I am not going to listen to you.” As a parent, you might say, “Mr. Perfect, I see that you are trying to tell [child’s name] that he has to be perfect, but we all know that nobody is perfect and that is ok.” 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. There is no need to worry anymore, don't let your children be afraid of going to sleep, allow their dreams to flourish and explore.

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.But they should not worry. In fact, that is the very purpose of the creatures, because these worry monsters are designed to help children overcome stress and anxiety. Another great idea for ownership is for the children to make the worry monsters themselves. This is very achievable.

Anxiety is a bully. It bosses your child around, tells them they are not good enough, and causes high amounts of fear. Suddenly, your anxious child begins to see anxiety as a part of them, bringing down their self-confidence and opinion of themselves. The best way to help your child battle anxiety is to name the worry monster, thus, making sure that the anxiety is seen externally. This process allows children to keep their own identify strong while externalizing the anxiety as the bully. Worry monsters are so simple to make, and have such a wide range of benefits. Of course there is no way to completely eliminate worry, but there has been research into the impact of strategies used in early life. ( Source)

Some kids may find it difficult to use visualization techniques and will benefit from using an actual box.