Worry dolls can be a really good way to assist children to express and share their fears and anxieties.

They can be used anytime, but particularly useful at bedtime, as it is often at night time that children start to worry, and feel overwhelmed (just like adults). 

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You will need:

• A set of worry dolls - each little bag holds 5 or 6 tiny dolls

Instructions:

1. Explain to your child that each doll is there to tell a worry to, and it is the doll’s job to look after that worry.

2. Talk with your child about the worries they would like to share with the doll. Together, you can discuss and explore that worry, so that you are helping the child to talk it through. Then, if the child wants to, he or she can whisper or speak their worry to the doll and put it back in the bag. If he or she has several worries, they can use different dolls to each hold a new worry.

3. Explain that the doll will hold on to their worries for them, so that the child can do something else (e.g. sleep, play, do school work), as they do not have to think about the worry for a while. 

4. When they need to they can get the dolls back out and share their worries again. 

Another fun way to help your child to talk about, process and manage their worries is making a Worry Monster together.