worrywoo
By Contributor Jen Shragge

My son has had a lot on his plate lately. We put our family dog down, discovered a new baby was on her way and uprooted ourselves from the Vancouver area to Toronto. He also starts Kindergarten this fall. To say he has been feeling overwhelmed and anxious would be an understatement.

Then along came the WorryWoos. The WorryWoo Monster was created for a New York City art exhibition in 2001. Originally called The Monsters in My Head, Creator Andi Green used characters to embody various emotions. From loneliness to confusion, she transformed them into quirky, loveable kid-friendly monster characters. Her message of “embrace your emotions” received very positive feedback. She expanded her concept and in 2007 she decided to publish and produce her new collection of stories under her company Monsters In My Head LLC.

We received the Don’t Feed The Worry Bug book along with the star monster, Wince, and his companion worry bug. The story reinforces the idea that the more you focus on your worries, the more you have. As Wince begins to worry, the little worry bug grows larger and larger. Once he stops worrying, the bug finally shrinks and eventually hits the road. I found it very useful to keep reminding Darcy about Wince and how focusing on things other than the worries made Wince happier and allowed him to leave the worries behind. The story is appropriate for ages 3-8 (in my opinion) and the stuffies are quite well made.

worrywoo

I think the variety of emotions available make these little monsters very useful for parents and educators. There are books and stuffies as well as educator kits available ranging in price from $14.99 for per book to $223.94 (all USD) for the entire collection. There are also apps available and a new 30-minute musical production debuting in New York City in late August at the Time Square Arts Centre, which I would absolutely be taking Darcy to if we lived in New York.

If you have a child who is struggling to cope with anxiety, loneliness, insecurity or frustration, this may be just the tool you have been looking for. Darcy may not be worrying less about all these life changes, but I do appreciate having the book and stuffies around for when he seems more overwhelmed than usual and like reminding him of the story and what he can do to help cope.

Do you have any other tricks or tips for helping children deal or cope with difficult emotions?

Disclosure: I received a sample of a product to facilitate my review. No other compensation was provided and all views and opinions stated on this post are 100% my own.

Jen Shragge lives in Toronto, Ontario with her Kid and Hubby with a new one on the way. When she’s not trying to make the world greener she is trying to get her family to eat more greens. She writes about her attempts and includes her recipes at cookingforthecarnivore.