Amber will be 5 this weekend, and when I think back to when I was that age I remember the joys of being care-free and endless days playing outside in the sunshine in Cape Town all day and trips to my favourite smoothie bar ‘Juicy Lucy’ with my aunt. We would always get a muffin and a freshly-squeezed orange juice.
However fast forward to 2018 and things are so much less carefree for young kids. Starting school at 4-years-old means homework, reading, full days of learning and extra curriculum activites. It’s no wonder that kids are more anxious than ever, and often don’t know how to communicate these anxities to their grown up.
So when The Irish Fairy Door Company got in touch with me to review their ‘No More Worries’ Kit I had to say yes. Amber had started getting anxiety about her upcoming drama show and moving to Year 1 at school, so the timing was great.
The Kit
The kit comes in a box which contains a a mini plaque, which the kid places their thumb on while thinking of their worry. When the plaque turns red the fairies have heard their worry, and when it turns green, the fairies have taken their worry away. The plaque has an extendable cord so kids can attach it to their school book bags or take it out with them.
The kit also contains conversation cards, these are a great idea for encouraging kids to talk. They are all open-ended questions, so you’ll never just get a yes or no answer. I don’t know about anyone else, but Amber loves having conversations and she loves when we do quiz style games, so she loved this addition to the kit and she enjoyed taking turns with me to answer questions.
After a few days of using the kit together Amber would come back from school and say “Mummy, I have a worry. I am going to get my plaque.” She would then be full of beans again, ready to play with her toys. I feel like the plaque gave her the ability to recognise when she was feeling anxious and the confidence to control it herself. I would then follow this up later by saying “Would you like to tell mummy what your worry was about.”
The kit comes with a journal for kids to write down their feelings. As Amber is younger and not writing sentences independently, I have been encouraging her to write her feelings down by using words that she can spell like happy or sad and to draw faces. If you have an older child then the journal will come in really handy for them. I would suggest using it as a gratitude journal to encourage kids to write down what they are thankful for that day and what they are looking forward to the next day.
The kit retails at a very affordable £17.99 and comes in a beautiful packaged box and is gender neutral. Batteries are included.
As someone who is passionate about mental health this is a kit that I would 100% encourage you to have in your home.
*I received the kit in return for an honest review*
