How children cope with their worries

In this blog, Rachel Rooney introduces her new picture book, The Worrying Worries, illustrated by Zehra Hicks, and describes some handy techniques that children might use to help them manage their everyday worries.

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How children cope with their worries

By Rachel Rooney

The Worrying Worries is the second book in a trilogy from Zehra Hicks and myself. The first, The Problem with Problems, was published last year, and the third, The Fears You Fear, will be published in 2022. All three books present abstract feelings or concepts as concrete manifestations in the form of characterful monsters. I'm delighted with the ways Zehra has cleverly interpreted the text through bold and cheerful illustrations.

This book arose from a conversation I'd had with a potential publisher when pitching the text of Problems, some time ago. While they liked my idea, they wanted me to substitute the idea of a Problem for a Worry. I felt strongly that a book addressing worries would take a very different approach (for example, problems do not necessarily have negative emotions attached to them), so I wrote the prototype of this text to demonstrate that. Luckily for me, Andersen Press acquired both texts and commissioned a third.

As a natural worrier, I thought I'd share what I've learned about this subject and offer some simple strategies to help alleviate stress. In this book, a Worry is depicted as an amorphous, scribbly creature that feeds and grows larger on its owner's anxiety. I describe how Worries can manifest in physical symptoms - restlessness, skin problems, loss of appetite, finger nail-biting, crying and stomach aches. And how all this might lead to further worrying. The rhyming text along with Zehra's amusing illustrations aim to soften the message and amuse the reader, despite the serious nature of the subject.

Assistance arrives in the form of the friendly listening ear of a Worry Expert. She suggests four strategies to combat these feelings. These are a) calming the body with mindful stillness and slower, deeper breathing, b) bodily relaxation by the tightening and releasing of muscle tension, c) positive visualisation exercises, and finally the employment of rewarding distraction activities.

I hope that this book might open up a discussion between adults and children about the feeling of being worried. Can children describe some of the worries they might have? Do they recall situations where they've experienced this? How does a worry make them feel - both mentally and physically? Perhaps they could imagine, describe and create their own Worry Monsters.

Teachers and parents might also like to spend some time exploring some simple mindfulness techniques, breathing activities and body relaxation activities that they can practise with children - who might well imagine the Worry shrinking in size, as they do so. Perhaps a calm space in the corner of the room could be created and kitted it out with a bean bag, a weighted blanket and some headphones with gentle music - a place where individuals can retreat to practise calming themselves down.

Adults could use simple guided positive visualisation techniques with children, who might go on to describe or draw some of the images they'd created in their mind. Suggestions can be taken as to activities that might help them distract them from worrying - singing, dancing, playing with a pet, working with play dough, reading books or going for a walk, all being possibilities.

Of course, teachers and caregivers will be aware that such a topic might occasionally prompt a child to express more serious worries that would require alternative intervention, but I hope that this book might go some way to equipping children with handy techniques they can employ in everyday situations.