How to use your Worry Eater

Worry Eaters are much more than just adorable cartoon characters. They might just be the best toys ever invented!

Kids love the bright colours and cool personalities of these fun and cuddly toys, but there is a more serious use for them as well.

Lots of parents have been asking us how to use Worry Eaters to help kids with stress and worry, so here are the basics.

We’re fond of saying that Worry Eaters are a bit like the Tooth Fairy for worries – they make them disappear overnight!

Now, of course we don’t mean that Worry Eaters magically make everything alright (we’re still looking for a magic wand…), but they can help kids to feel a whole lot better about their problems, and give parents the tools to deal with them too.

What you need to do

1. Get your child to spend a few minutes writing down some words, or drawing a picture of what has been worrying or stressing them out, on a piece of paper. You could make this a daily or weekly bedtime ritual.
2. Pop the paper into the Worry Eater’s mouth and zip it up.
3. Tell you child that the Worry Eater has eaten it all up for them.
4. When your child goes to bed, they can take their Worry Eater to bed with them for cuddles or he can sit on a chair or in the toy box.
5. In tooth-fairy style, empty out the Worry Eater’s tummy while your child sleeps

Note: This works best with the plush toys, but can be done with the keyrings too. Worry Eater Keyrings do have a velcro opening at the mouth and a small piece of paper can be put inside.

How it helps your child

– They have been able to “get the worry out” i.e. by writing it down or drawing it. It can be very therapeutic just to write or talk about your problems and get it off your chest.

– The worry has “symbolically gone” in the morning which can help them to feel better about it, and start to move on from whatever was upsetting them.

– You get an insight into what is upsetting your child so you can take steps to help remedy the issue, or prevent it in the future. Knowledge is power!

This is just the recommended way to use Worry Eaters. You can come up with your own way of doing it!

We’ve heard of some children who don’t like to write or draw and prefer to whisper their problems into the worry eater’s mouth (while Mum listens of course!) Other kids just like to cuddle them to feel safe from the monsters under the bed.

Please do share your stories and tips with us. How do you use yours?

We’d love to hear about how you use your Worry Eaters with your children, and share your tips with our tribe.

You can find a wide range of Worry Eater toys at Sensory Smart to help your child to beat the worry!