If you’re the parent of a child who never seems to stop worrying, you’re already well aware of the anguish it causes to see your child in a constant state of anxiety. There’s a whole host of reasons why some kids worry more than others, but thankfully there are resources available to help teach your child how to manage their anxiety.
Children experience anxiety differently from adults, which makes it important to understand the different types of anxiety that may affect your child. Common signs of anxiety in children include excessive worrying about school or friends, irrational fears, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, clinginess, irritability, hyperactivity or restlessness. It can also manifest itself in physical symptoms like stomach aches or headaches.
Aside from encouraging regular physical activity in one form or another (as exercise reduces stress levels in both adults and children), there are toys and games that are specifically designed not just to alleviate anxiety in children, but actually teach them how to manage their own feelings of worry.
Fun Stuff stocks games and toys for kids who worry
At Fun Stuff, we have a carefully curated selection of games to teach worry management skills, and calming toys for alleviating anxiety. Whether your child seems to get anxious about going to kindergarten/preschool or they have trouble getting to sleep (or staying asleep throughout the night), these toys and games have been designed by industry experts to help kids with anxiety.
For example, the Talkabout Cards - Self Awareness Activities game features 20 group games to encourage self-awareness and effective social skills. Each game card includes instructions for playing the game and colour coding to show which cards are best to use.
Meanwhile, the Impulse Control Game teaches children how to accept delayed gratification, read social cues, use positive self-talk, improve problem-solving skills, anticipate consequences, learn how to stop certain behaviours and more. As players make their way through a maze of roads on the colourful game board, they face a series of questions and scenarios that teach lessons while distracting from anxiety simultaneously.
And finally, the Positive Thinking Card Game speaks for itself – it introduces critical positive thinking skills, including recognising self-defeating statements and changing negative thoughts to positive ones.
Shop online at Fun Stuff
At Fun Stuff Educational & Therapeutic Resources, our expansive range of products has been compiled with the help of qualified and experienced speech pathologists, educators, psychologists and occupational therapists. Our resources can be used by professionals and parents one-on-one, in a classroom or within a therapeutic setting. For more information about our products, don’t hesitate to contact us.
