Results: Guatemalan Worry Dolls

Worry dolls are mostly hand-made. In Guatemala, they are made of wire, wool and colorful textile leftovers. The dolls are then dressed in traditional Mayan style. The size of the doll can vary between ½ inch and 2.0 inches. Have you heard of them and seen them?

When I was teaching in an ESL (English as a Second Languate / Amnesty (Get your high school diploma and be granted citizen ship) class a student from Guatemala gave me a set, which I since passed on to my daughter. There are two ways to utilize them, choose the ones you've heard of:

Worry dolls have also played a role in modern pediatrics and child psychiatry. During a psychological interview with children, some counselors have offered a worry doll to the child as some kind of imaginary, but trustworthy "listener", "allayer" and "contact person". The doll, in turn, will work for psychiatrists, psychologists, educators and parents as some kind of "agent" and "troubleshooter" between child and adult. Do you find this helpful?

The tradition is so strong that there are even precious stories about how useful these dolls are for helping children control their emotions and manage their fears and anxiety. Silly Billy is a story by Anthony Browne, who has brought the traditional legend of Guatemalan worry dolls to millions of homes around the world. The story, which is told completely in the video, tells of a boy named Billy who has dozens of worries that keep him from sleeping. After trying almost everything, his grandmother tells him about worry dolls and how they can take away his troubles. If you watched the video, did you enjoy it?

One final question, if you're religious do you frown on this sort of thing, rather you believe that a child should tell his worries to G.d / i.e. pray about it, and not be dealing with a worry doll, or do you see a place for these dolls in a child's life?