Worry Dolls
When growing up, most kids spend a certain amount of time being worried. Of course, many of
these fears are just the classic childhood fears. They wonder if there are monsters under their bed or in the closet, if the
sun is going to rise the next day, if their parents love them enough, and things like that. Beyond that, however, some kids
are scared of a lot of other things, as well. Some kids are afraid of popular cartoon characters, as well as clowns, piñatas, loud
cars, and people with long beards, for example. While some parents may become worried about this and begin discussing therapy options
for their young one, a lot of parents will simply utilize worry dolls.
A worry doll is a deceptively simple toy, but it can really
help a lot for kids. Worry dolls are small Guatemalan dolls, handmade, simple, and crude. They are typical crafts dolls that you can buy for a
few dollars at many stores. There is nothing special about worry dolls at all except for their purpose. They are made for children to tell their
worries too. A lot of parents never think about how flexible and powerful a child's mind is. Even just being told that a doll has some special
powers – for example, the power to listen to your worries and make them go away – can have powerful effects. Some kids will construct
an entire world around this.
I heard of one example where a young boy would sit and talk to his worry dolls for
hours. He would arrange them in a semicircle on his pillow, and he would take turns talking with his worry dolls. The funny thing
was that he would let his worry dolls usually talk first. He kept them in a small bag, and so some of them were scared about
it. A few of them were worried that there were monsters outside of the bag, that they would not get enough air to breathe in their bag, and
that he would ultimately forget about them.
Then he would tell them about his worries. He worried when his parents were
fighting, he would worry about making friends, and many other things as well. The young boy had a remarkably reciprocal
relationship with his worry dolls, and he thought of them as some of his best friends by the time he was done talking with
them. If you have a young child who has worries, you might try getting worry dolls for him or her. It might not seem like much, but it can
make a big difference for some kids. A kid's imagination is pretty amazing, and the worry dolls can help some kids use it to their
advantage.
Worry Dolls
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