For such little humans, children are sure capable of such big feelings. As a parent sometimes I feel overwhelmed helping my children manage those feelings. Hey, I have big feelings too and I’m still learning to manage my own! So, every now and then we need a little help. Sometimes help comes in interesting and, let’s say less conventional, forms.
We recently got something called a worry plaque for the kids. I ordered it online from the Irish Fairy Door Company. It looks like a slice of a log except that it’s plastic (the kids don’t seem to notice or care) and it has a hand-print embedded in the centre.
The “log” is inscribed with the following:
A fairy’s magic changes red to green, gone are your worries, never to be seen.
The plaque glows red when you think of your worry and put your hand on the hand-print. When the fairies hear the worry the hand glows green and that means the transfer is complete and you don’t have to worry about it anymore.
What’s more, the children and I learned that all those worries the fairies collect are ground down into magical fairy dust that has the ability to grant wishes. Powerful stuff!
But hey, any port in a storm when your kid is struggling. And really, is wishing really all that different than the Law of Attraction or manifestation?
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I mounted it on the wall at child-height in an easily seen place but one that could afford a few seconds of privacy if need be.
Excited, the kids rush over and took turns telling it their worries then fist bumping and celebrating whenever the light turned green.
“I’m worried Mom is going to be eaten by a cougar,” whispered my youngest. This is apparently a real concern because she repeated it to her dad when he got home from work that day.
Over the course of the evening and into the next day, I found the kids at the worry plaque more and more. First side-by-side and then alone at times. I couldn’t figure out why. I mean I know they’ve got worries and it’s great to see them processing their feelings enough to talk to the fairies but the glowing lights can only entertain for so long….
Eventually I put two and two together. The children had conspired to try to tell the fairies as many worries as they could think up in order to create a lot of magical fairy dust so they could earn some wishes.
I was actually pretty impressed with their plan.
“When I get to my wishes, my first wish is going to be candy and ice cream just for me!” explained my eldest.
I looked at him with one eyebrow cocked but he continued to talk.
“My second wish is that mom is going to let me eat it!”
I laughed. Smart wish.
“Candy is a vegetable!” he yelled over his shoulder as he ran away. “It’s good for you!”
It was almost like a little weight was immediately lifted off his shoulders to have a special spot available to capture some worries. At least I hope so anyway. As for my daughter, well, I suppose I should be grateful she’s got my back with respect to those mommy hungry cougars? Either way this glowing plastic fairy conduit seems to be helping. So much so that I’ve also started using it to my own advantage.
I’ve leaned in to it when I knew the children were within earshot and told it: “I’m worried the kids aren’t going to eat their dinner tonight….”
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