- Experts believe toys can help youngsters deal with their problems
By
Sean Poulter
20:49 EST, 22 January 2014
|
05:17 EST, 23 January 2014
Worry Eaters: The toys sell for £15 to £20 each and are designed to help children deal with their anxieties
A ‘worry eater’ cuddly toy that claims to help children throw away their darkest fears has been named toy of the year.
Children are encouraged to write down or draw a picture of the things that upset them and put them in the toy’s mouth, which is zipped shut.
The idea is that the process allows them to put their anxieties, perhaps a recurring nightmare, behind them and move on.
The theory is that it helps children to overcome the embarrassment or fear or talking things through with their mother or father.
The ‘Sorgenfresser Worry Eater‘ toys were created in 2008 by German children’s TV animator Gerd Hahn and have been a success across Europe.
A survey by the British distributors, Coiledspring Games, found a third of parents believe that children today are under so much pressure that they worry more than they did.
The firm’s Rachel Wyatt said there is good science and evidence from parents that the toys help children cope with their darkest fears.
She said Mr Hahn had used his own experience of lying awake at night worrying that he may have to shut his studio after a major customer failed to pay a bill.
‘He just wished there was some kind of monster that would eat up these worries and take them away. This gave him the idea of creating the toys, which he had made up and were an immediate success,’ she said.
The first was called Saggo, however there is now an wider range, with names like Biff, Betti, Bill, Frula and Flint.
She said: ‘There is a symbolic element to zipping away a worry and it disappearing. But if mum or dad finds a worry in a Sorgenfresser’s mouth it will help them to talk it through with the child.’
Miss Wyatt said: ‘One of my friend’s little girls was having nightmares about dying in a fire and she was getting really upset. I bought her a worry eater and it had positive results.
‘I also got a little note back from a child who had been worried about having an operation. We have also used them with people who are looking after children on a short-term basis and may have particular worries.’
Playtime: Experts believe toys genuinely help youngsters who normally find it hard to talk about their problems (Stock picture posed by models)
Liat Hughes Joshi, author of Raising Children: The Primary Years, said the toys genuinely help youngsters who normally find it hard to talk about their problems.
‘As well as the idea of the Sorgenfresser helping children by symbolically ‘eating’ their ideas, it’s an effective way for children to communicate anxieties,’ she said.
‘Many of us face occasions when we know something is worrying our children but they aren’t opening up and telling us what the problem is. It can happen no matter how close the parent-child relationship, and could be because a child is struggling to articulate things or perhaps is embarrassed or feels silly.
‘The concept is so clever, especially in the latter situation as it means a child can write their worry down in their own time, or draw it, and then pop it into its mouth.
‘A parent can then go and retrieve it later and could even leave a little note back reassuring or helping their son or daughter. Even if a child decides they don’t want mum and dad seeing the notes, the symbolism of having their worries taken away is still powerful.’
The toys have collected a series of awards in Europe and the UK. This week they were awarded first place in the Editor’s Choice awards at London’s Toy Fair.The smaller junior range sell for £15, while the larger standard versions sell for £25 from toy and shops and online.
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The comments below have been moderated in advance.
Steve,
London, United Kingdom,
3 hours ago
What happens when a sibling or another little boy or girl takes a note out and starts teasing the child who drew or wrote it?
Proper Gander,
Oxford, United Kingdom,
3 hours ago
If it works then what a great idea, although £15-£20 for cuddly toy with a zip seems suspiciously expensive.. I was once told as an adult that if someone/something really upsets me I should write a (snotty?) letter but only post it after rereading it a day later. Suffice to say the letter never gets posted but one feels better having got it off their chest!!
just-me13,
Houston,
3 hours ago
Too much in common with a sin eater, someone always pays the price; and since it’s a monstrous looking toy, so similar to clowns, kids are very rational and know they are the only ones really around to pay the cost in the bigger picture. So I know I’d be very afraid of this thing releasing my scariest thoughts and/or nightmares.
just-me13,
Houston,
3 hours ago
I’d still be worried that scary thing would come alive and release all my anxieties and nightmares. No thanks, I’m still afraid of clowns and this thing seems much like the same.
Barry Sotero,
washington dc, United States,
3 hours ago
Great, more sock puppet psycho-therapy. Hurry Barney moms, these are going to sell fast!
illbjammin,
Pasadena California, United States,
4 hours ago
That thing scared the hll out of me.
Valerina,
San Diego,
4 hours ago
great idea! I just bought one for my daughter. reminds me of the worry dolls from years ago. you tell your problem to the mini doll and sleep with it under your pillow. as you dream the doll solves your problem. these stuffys are SO cute.
Jennifer,
Texas,
4 hours ago
Hello . . . um, hi. I would like to put my mortgage and not having health insurance in its mouth.
Rainbow,
North East Scotland,
4 hours ago
The toy looks terrifying. Can it eat itself?
Andy,
Portlaoise, Ireland,
5 hours ago
It is.a non living version of the dark-age sin eater.
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