Worry Eaters review

As the saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved, but when you're growing up, it can often be hard to know who to turn to. Since time immemorial, children have always had nightmares and been scared of monsters under the bed, but these days, there seem to be so many more things to be worried about. The TV screens are constantly full of news of terrorist attacks and, even if you try to shield your children from the worst of it, it's obvious - and even essential - that they understand the current climate of fear and alertness to danger. We will be flying out to the Canaries in August from Zaventem airport in Brussels, the very airport that was the target of suicide bombers last week. We've flown out of there several times before and it was weird watching the news and seeing places that we'd been that were blown to pieces and covered in wreckage. Sophie was a bit shellshocked when she realised that the Starbucks counter that was one of the targets was where he had got a drink before going on holiday last year and even if Pierre and Juliette haven't openly expressed any concerns, I'm sure they are more aware than they are letting on.

When Pierre was having nightmares a couple of years ago, Juliette stepped in as a fabulous big sister and told him to draw a picture of his nightmare then rip it up, jump up and down on the pieces then put it in the bin and they'd be gone. I was very impressed with this idea, especially when it worked ! As soon I received an email about Worry Eaters, I thought the idea was similar - these cute cuddly friends have big zip up mouths so you can draw or write all your worries then pop them in their mouths for them to gobble up your troubles. As a parent, I love the fact that you can sneak in afterwards and find out exactly what's been bothering your child, if they didn't want to talk about it. Pierre is actually very upfront and tells me what he's written on the papers as he feeds them to his Worry Eater, so it's a great way of opening up the channels of conversation and finding out what is secretly troubling your child.

The toys are very well made with strong seams and a wonderfully soft plush finish. Pierre can't stop cuddling his Worry Eater and loves pulling his inner pocket out so that it looks like he is sticking his tongue out ! The quirky, cheeky monsters are very appealing and Pierre has adopted his Worry Eater, Pat, as his new bedtime friend, although he has told me that when we go on holiday, he will also be using it as a cushion and a handy bag for all his travel essentials in the car and plane !

The Worry Eaters come in different sizes, depending on the size of your anxiety ! The classic 32-40cm plushes have a RRP of £20 but there are also juniors, 22-24cm costing £12.50, and a giant one measuring a whopping 97cm with an equally hefty £200 price tag - that would be great in a school or hospital environment. There's also a brand new collection of stationery and novelty items perfect for primary school-aged boys and girls, including purses (RRP £5.49), pencil cases (RRP £8.49) and bags (RRP £8.99). Worry Eaters are based on Gerd Hahn’s animation, Sorgenfresser.

for more information : http://sorgenfresser.com/en/

Disclosure : We received the product in order to write an honest review.