The Huge Bag of Worries

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Being able to write their worries down and leave them there is a skill that will really help children as they develop and generally helps worries to not bubble up into a huge problem.

I was sent this book by the author Sarah Surgey and I really do like it. The title and concept reminded me of a huge bag of worries which I am sure we are all familiar with. This time though it is feelings caused by grief that is causing the heaviness of the bag. The bag metaphor is such a great one because all children can identify with carrying a heavy bag and there are activities you can do with a bag to show children how things can weigh you down. One activity that springs to mind is using a bag and potatoes and adding things to a bag to show each worry or feeling. The bag gets heavier as you add more potatoes. To make the bag lighter you offload your worries or think of coping strategies and you get rid of each potato, one at a time. Children are often worried about things but they may struggle to open up about how they're feeling.The Self-esteem intervention Year Four is for a group of six children and is led by a teaching assistant. It covers emotions, relaxation, calming down… Things weren't coming together for Martha. All that work - and she wanted everything to be perfect. She felt frustrated and helpless. She glanced into the living room, hoping that Mary would come to help her, but, fascinated by the words of Jesus, Mary showed no signs of moving. Jesus and his disciples were on their travels when they stopped for a visit at Martha's invitation.

Practical handbook on communicating with children and young people, illustrated with case studies throughout. Shows how to build relationships by communicating effectively with children and other adults using the ideas of social pedagogy. Covers verbal and non-verbal communication, empathy, working with conflict and in groups. Aimed at any practitioner working with children, young people and their families regardless of the setting.At some point, all of us feel both of these emotions. Worry and stress affect people in different ways. Some people may become angry and aggressive; some may find it hard to sleep; others may eat more or less than they need or eat unhealthy foods; some people may spend a long time on computer games or even simply become quiet and stop talking to other people. Just as people have different ways in which stress and worry affect them, they also have different ways of coping with it. Parents’ main worries can include their children’s behaviour and how they should be disciplining them, having enough money to support them, how peer pressure and bullying affect their children, their self-esteem and exposure to drugs and alcohol.

Let your child ask you questions too. Be honest with them about how you feel about certain subjects and let them know about things that have happened to you in the past. Give them as long as they need to answer without interrupting. They may be nervous or still working out what they really think and that could take a little time.Martha learned a valuable lesson from Jesus. Sometimes we all worry about things that really don’t matter that much! Sometimes we choose to worry rather than stop to look at situations clearly and logically. Jesus responded in two ways. First, he made Martha aware of her worry by saying, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.’ There was real concern in his voice as he repeated her name. He helped her to see that she had a problem to be dealt with. Jesus didn't judge Martha - there's nothing wrong with being a good hostess or wanting things to be the very best - he just drew her attention to her worry.