What Do You Think Of This Worry Plaque?

Have you got a little one worried about starting school or nursery in September?

Well, here’s an interesting idea that might help alleviate some of those fears.

The interactive Worry Plaque by Irish Fairy Doors is designed to make your child’s anxieties disappear as if by magic. Tots aged three years and above can hold their hand over the plaque and watch the handprint change colour, signalling an end to their worries. It costs £19.99 from Smyths Toys and features the words:

A fairy’s magic, changes red to green, gone are your worries, never to be seen.

We’ve been debating this in the Playpennies office this week.

I’ve written about being the mum whose kid won't settle at nursery, as well as about my own recent encounter with anxiety – so you can imagine why this idea really gripped me.

It also reminds me of the gorgeous Worry Eater soft toys which we’ve found really useful in our house for talking over concerns with our kids.

But I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the idea of teaching a child that their worries simply disappear. Given that my daughter went through almost a whole term of screaming at nursery drop-off every morning, I don’t think she’d be convinced by this either.

What helped, in the end, was just perseverance and giving her time to find her feet and settle in. She now loves nursery so much that she’s willingly signed up for an extra week of summer scheme – voluntarily!

She also loved it when I planted a kiss on her foot whilst getting her dressed in her nursery uniform in the morning, and told her to keep it inside her sock and think about that kiss whenever she felt worried about me not being with her.

So, in the end, we all have to find our own ways of helping kids come to terms with their fears and anxieties. For me, accepting them is an important part of overcoming them, so I prefer something like the Worry Eater for helping kids verbalise their concerns – without trying to persuade them that they’ll disappear. What happens if the same worry hits the next day?

One of our team is currently trying out a worry plaque with her tot so she’ll be able to report back on whether it does the trick and if, indeed, it is magic.

Have you got one an anxious child? Have you tried a Worry Plaque or Worry Eater Toy? We'd love to hear how you get on with it. What techniques do you find most helpful in helping little ones deal with worries or anxiety?