Looking for a creative way to help your child explore their worries? Discover the Worry Monster activity – a simple, play-based idea to encourage children to express their feelings, explore what’s troubling them and open up gentle conversations about the things that sometimes make them anxious.
Does your child sometimes seem overwhelmed by worries? Perhaps they worry about going to school, making friends, getting things wrong or things happening to the people they love.
Anxiety is such a complicated thing. It can involve a whole mixture of thoughts, emotions and physical sensations. Sometimes it’s warning us of potential dangers. Other times, it’s like a faulty smoke alarm that goes off when there’s no immediate danger, making everyday situations feel much more frightening or overwhelming than they really are.
It’s no wonder, therefore, that children may find worries difficult to explain. They might struggle to put their feelings into words, find it hard to talk about what’s troubling them or simply not know where to begin.
That’s why approaching these feelings through imagination and play can sometimes offer another way for children to explore what’s on their minds.
And that’s where the Worry Monster comes in!
This simple, creative activity invites children to imagine their worries as a little monster of their own making. They can decide what it looks like, what it’s called and what sorts of things make it appear.
This approach takes inspiration from a therapeutic idea called externalising, which involves thinking about a problem as something separate from the person experiencing it. By giving worry a character, children have an opportunity to explore it from a slightly different perspective. It can also provide a gentle starting point for conversations about the things that sometimes make them feel worried or unsettled.
The aim isn’t to uncover hidden meanings or teach children to control every anxious thought. And sadly, it most likely won’t make worries magically disappear. But it will create a relaxed, supportive opportunity for children to express their ideas, share their feelings if they wish and enjoy some imaginative time with you.
So, if you’re looking for a creative way to help your child explore their worries, let’s meet the Worry Monster.
In This Post
Often what children are feeling underneath the behavior isn’t immediately obvious…
What Is Externalising Worries and How Can It Help Children?
Externalising is an approach used in some therapeutic work, particularly narrative therapy. It involves helping people think about a problem as something separate from themselves –something they’re experiencing or dealing with – rather than seeing it as part of who they are.
For example, a child might begin to think of themselves as a worrier, or feel that something is wrong with them because they get scared. Externalising offers another way to look at this: instead of being a worrier, they are someone who sometimes experiences worries.
This distinction can be helpful because it creates a little distance between a child and the feelings they’re experiencing, without suggesting that those feelings define them.
The Worry Monster activity takes inspiration from this idea by inviting children to imagine their worries as a character. They can decide what their monster looks like, what makes it appear and what they might like to say about it.
By imagining their worries as a creative monster, children have an opportunity to give something that can sometimes feel confusing or difficult to explain a more concrete form.
For some children, this imaginative approach may make it easier to start conversations about worries. It can also provide an opportunity to explore feelings from a little distance, rather than feeling that they have to talk directly about themselves.
Of course, every child is different. Some will enjoy creating a worry monster and telling you all about it, while others might not connect with it or want to take part at all.
The important thing is not to force the activity. Simply follow your child’s lead, listen without making assumptions and let them know you’re there if they’d like to talk.
The Worry Monster Art Activity
This creative activity invites your child to imagine what their worries might look like if they were a little monster.
Using paint, straws and a little imagination, they’ll create a unique character that can provide a playful starting point for exploring worries and talking about feelings.
There’s no right or wrong way to make a worry monster. It can be scary, silly, funny, colourful or completely unexpected!
What You’ll Need
- A protective cover for your table or work surface – things might get messy!
- Thick paper or card suitable for painting – (lightweight paper tends to ripple)
- Acrylic paint thinned with water (ensure the paint is runny enough or children will have trouble getting it to spread out – try a 1:2 ratio)
- A pipette, small spoon or paintbrush to drop the blobs of paint onto the paper.
- Googly eyes – (or if you’re artistic- draw some eyes on paper to cut out and stick on)
- Paper or card for making additional features, such as mouths, teeth and ears.
- Glue and scissors (with adult supervision where appropriate).
- A black pen or felt-tip pens.
- Paper towels for cleaning up.
A safety note: If you’re using straws, make sure your child understands that they should blow through them rather than suck up the paint. Supervise younger children closely and consider using a different technique, such as swirling the paint around with a paintbrush, if you prefer.
How To Blow Paint Your Worry Monster
How to Create Your Worry Monster
1. Drop some paint onto the paper.
Place a few small blobs of diluted paint onto the paper. You can use different colours and experiment with placing them close together or further apart.
2. Blow the paint to create interesting shapes.
Invite your child to gently blow through a straw to move the paint around the paper, creating unusual shapes and patterns.
Watch as the colours spread and the shapes begin to take form. Your child might start to notice something that looks like a monster, an animal or something entirely different!
3. Bring your monster to life.
Once the paint has dried, your child can add googly eyes, draw a mouth or cut out and stick on some extra features.
They might give their monster enormous teeth, funny ears, long legs, spiky hair or several pairs of eyes. Let their imagination take over.
4. Give your monster a name.
Once their creation is finished, invite your child to think of a name for their monster.
If your child gets stuck, you might want to give them a few prompts to spark ideas:
- How does anxiety make your body feel? (e.g. Queasy, Shaky, Jitterbug)
- What are things people do that feel horrible? (e.g. Bossy, Pushy, Mean)
- What are things you just don’t like? (e.g. Cabbage, Sprouts, Slime)
These little prompts often lead to creative (and sometimes funny) names that your child will connect with. You might end up with ideas like ‘Mean Bean,’ ‘Pushy Pete,’ or ‘Broccoli Breath’.
A Little About the Creative Process
One of the things I love about this worry monster activity activity is watching children discover unexpected shapes in their paintings.
I often hear things like, ‘Oh look – there’s his big, long legs’ or ‘I can see his face’.
Their imagination takes over, and the picture gradually becomes something entirely their own.
And because the shapes develop unpredictably, there’s no pressure to draw something perfectly or make it look a particular way. Children who aren’t particularly confident about their artistic abilities may enjoy this freedom, too.
(Looking for more ways to support children’s emotional wellbeing? Here are 21 Play Therapy-Inspired Activities to Help Your Child Explore Their Feelings.)
Getting to Know Your Worry Monster: Gentle Questions to Explore Feelings
Once your child has created their monster, you might like to invite them to tell you a little more about it.
You could try some of these gentle prompts:
• What’s your monster like? Is it big or small, friendly or frightening, funny or serious, ugly or glamerous?
• When does your monster appear? Are there particular times when it comes out, like before school or at bedtime? Does it sneak up suddenly or can you tell it’s coming? When did you first notice it?
• How do you feel when your monster’s about? Does he cause a sore head or tummy, sweaty hands, a pounding heart, or make you irritable? (Sometimes, children experience physical sensations when they’re worried. They might notice a fluttery tummy, a faster heartbeat or sweaty hands. If your child mentions these feelings, you can acknowledge them and gently explore whether they’re feeling worried, while remembering that physical symptoms can have other causes, too.)
• If your monster could talk, what might it say? Does it try to trick you or frighten you with “what ifs”?
• What can you do or say to make your monster leave?
• Who should be in charge—you or the worry monster?
You don’t need to work through every question. Choose one or two that feel natural and follow your child’s lead.
If they do begin talking about their own worries, listen with warmth and interest. You don’t need to challenge their thoughts, find a solution or persuade them that there’s nothing to worry about.
Sometimes, simply acknowledging how something feels can be a helpful starting point.
You might say:
• “That sounds like a difficult thing to worry about.”
• “I can understand why that might feel scary.”
• “Thank you for telling me.”
• “I’m here if you’d like to talk about it.”
Making time for connection through play
The Worry Monster is just one example of how play can create opportunities for children to express themselves and share something about their world. But you don’t need a special activity or a particular set of materials to make play meaningful.
Sometimes, one of the most valuable things you can do is simply set aside a little time to play with your child, let them take the lead and show an interest in whatever captures their imagination.
These moments of child-led play can help you nurture your connection, give your child your undivided attention and create opportunities for them to feel heard and accepted.
The Worry Monster Activity for Kids: Closing Thoughts
Creating a worry monster won’t make worries disappear, but it can give children a playful way to explore feelings that might sometimes be difficult to put into words.
By taking an interest in your child’s creation, listening to their ideas and giving them space to talk if they wish, you can help them feel heard and supported.
And remember, the aim isn’t to defeat the worry monster or make every worry go away. It’s to show your child that they don’t have to face difficult feelings on their own, and that you’re there to listen whenever they need you
If you’d like more simple, real-life ways to support your child’s emotions, I share ideas, insights, and tools like this regularly. You can join below and I’ll send them straight to your inbox.
You Might Also Find Helpful…
Understanding Your Child:
Why Kids Can’t Tell You What They’re Feeling — And How They Show You Instead
What Is Your Child’s Behavior Really Trying To Tell You?
Discover the Power of Play:
Why Play Matters Way More Than You Think
How Different Types Of Play Support Your Child’s Emotional World
21 Powerful Play Therapy Techniques Parents Can Use at home
Explore Calming Activities:
Emotional Regulation in Children: Why It Matters and How to Help
Body Scan for Kids: The Magic Moonbeam (Free Script)
How to Calm Stress: Best Breathing Strategies For Kids
The Worry Box: A Simple Tool To Help Kids Who Worry Too Much
Don’t Miss a Thing…
Want to stay up to date? Sign up for the ‘Surviving the Crazy Beautiful’ newsletter here. Or join our communities on Pinterest or Facebook for the latest tips and support.
Don’t miss a thing…
Want to stay up to date? Sign up for the ‘Surviving the Crazy Beautiful’ newsletter here. Or join our communities on Pinterest or Facebook for the latest tips and support.
Pin to read later
