My Worry Space is a colourful, child-friendly worry and anxiety resource for children, drawing on CBT principles to help children slow down, explore their worries and find ways of responding that feel manageable.
🪐 What's my worry?
The first step is identifying the worry.
Children can use the “What's my worry?” section to write or draw what is on their mind.
Putting a worry outside of their head can make it easier to look at, talk about and explore together.
🎛️ Is it in my control?
Some worries are about things we can do something about, while others are outside our control. The “Is it in my control?” section encourages children to think about whether there is something they can influence or change.
This can help children begin to distinguish between:
Things I can do something about and Things I cannot control.
Where something is within their control, the mat encourages children to think about their next step.
🌙 My Worry Space
The My Worry Space section gives children somewhere to put their worries.
Rather than trying to push a worry away, children can acknowledge it, write it down and explore it with the support of an adult.
This can help create some distance between the child and the worry, making the worry something they can look at rather than something they simply have to react to.
🧠 A CBT-informed approach
My Worry Space draws on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) principles, helping children begin to make connections between their thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions.
The different sections encourage children to:
identify a worry
explore what they are thinking
consider what is within their control
notice how worry feels in their body
think about what they can do
develop a more helpful thought
identify someone they can ask for help
These simple steps can help children develop greater awareness of their worries and practise different ways of responding to them.
💭 “A thought I can try…”
Worries can sometimes make our thoughts feel very certain or frightening. The “A thought I can try…” section gives children an opportunity to develop a different, more helpful thought to use when their worry appears.
This isn't about pretending that everything is fine or simply “thinking positive”. Instead, children can practise finding a thought that feels more balanced, realistic, supportive or helpful.
❤️ How it feels in my body
Worry isn't only something we experience in our thoughts. Children may notice physical changes when they feel anxious or worried, such as:
a racing heart
butterflies or discomfort in their tummy
feeling hot or sweaty
The “How it feels in my body” section helps children notice and describe their own physical signs of worry. Developing this awareness can help children recognise when their anxiety is beginning to build.
🛠️ What can I do?
Once a child has identified their worry, the mat encourages them to think about what they can do next. This might involve problem-solving something that is within their control or choosing a strategy that helps them manage how they are feeling. The focus is on building a child's own toolkit of things they can try when worries become difficult.
👥 Who can I ask for help?
Children don't have to manage every worry by themselves. The “Who can I ask for help?” section encourages children to identify trusted people they can turn to when they need support. This can help reinforce the message that asking for help is a coping strategy too.
📊 How big is my worry?
The visual 1–5 worry scale gives children a simple way to communicate how big their worry feels. It can be used as a quick check-in and can also help children notice whether their worry feels different after talking about it or trying a coping strategy.
♻️ Wipe-clean and reusable
The mat is printed on durable 400gsm laminated card, making it:
Wipe-clean
Reusable
Durable
Easy to use again and again
A dry-wipe pen is included, so the mat is ready to use straight away.
Simply wipe it clean and use it again for another worry, another session or another child.
👨👩👧 Who is it for?
My Worry Space can be used by:
Parents and carers
Child psychologists
Therapists and counsellors
Schools and pastoral teams
Children's wellbeing practitioners
Mental health professionals
Other professionals supporting children's emotional wellbeing
It can be particularly helpful for children who experience everyday worries, anxious thoughts or difficulties managing big feelings.
📦 What's included?
1 × My Worry Space reusable laminated mat
1 × dry-wipe pen
The mat is printed on 400gsm laminated card.
Please note
My Worry Space is a supportive, educational and CBT-informed resource. It is not a substitute for professional mental health assessment or treatment. If a child's anxiety or worries are persistent, significantly affecting their everyday life, or causing considerable distress, appropriate professional support should be sought.