Red Tricycle, a national magazine, just published an article from my blog post about making a DIY Worry Box. It seems many parents and kids are interested in ways to reduce worry during this difficult time!
https://redtri.com/this-clever-diy-worry-box-helps-kids-with-worry-sleep
If you haven’t read the article, the DIY Worry Box is designed to contain a child’s worries so the child doesn’t have worries swirling in his or her head all the time. It uses the research-based, anxiety-reducing idea of containment. Below is an excerpt from the article:
“Containment”
“Containment is one of the basic principles of CBT. An analogy can help to understand it better. Imagine a yellow dandelion flower. The immature seeds are contained within the yellow flower and are not reproducing. But when the flower changes to a white fluffy seedhead, the mature seeds scatter in the wind.The seeds are no longer contained and they spread everywhere! Soon there are hundreds of new dandelions. If only you could contain all those seeds before they spread.”
“Now imagine that the mature dandelion seeds are worries. With the slightest provocation and without a container, worries can scatter everywhere. The worries can spread to bother a child (or an adult) anywhere and anytime. If you were just able to hold the worries in a container, they would feel manageable. You know you CANNOT contain mature dandelion seeds, but you CAN contain worries!”
Worry Box
The article then give steps on how to make a Worry Box and how to use it to reduce children’s worry and improve their sleep. Many children and adults have had great success with their Worry Box—especially when it is combined with reading the book about how to shrink the worry monster. I hope you check out the article and then enjoy making it as much as I did creating it! You and your children will be delighted!
Sally Baird, PhD is a retired child psychologist and co-author of a new book titled Shrinking the Worry Monster, A Kids’ Guide for Saying Goodbye to Worries. See her website at www.drsallyb.com. If your child has worries about COVID-19, you may want to read Dr. Sally’s blog on helping kids who worry about the pandemic, school, illness, and so much more!
Not only was Sally great in her profession and as an author of this amazing children’s book she is a really great person. We graduated together and on a recent girls trip to AZ our girls group were the first to hear her read this book. It’s not only good for kids it’s good for adults. I immediately ordered this book for my daughter who teaches first grade. They loved it. Congratulations Sally
Thank-you so much for your love and attention! I do think it is a great book and the Worry Box turns out to be so helpful.