Our real world worry slips are all about helping children manage their worries as and when they need. Print out as many as you like, cut out and keep in a pile for children and teens to access them.

This worry management printable asks children to write down their worry, then it asks them if it is a 'real world' worry, this means - is it a practical worry or a hypothetical worry? By realising whether the worry is a practical or hypothetical worry, can help children take steps to manage and reduce the worry.

What do we mean by 'real world' worry?

A 'real world' worry or 'practical' worry is something that is happening right now in the real world, for example, worrying about parents who are separating. A hypothetical worry is a worry that hasn't happened yet, and may never happen. For example, worrying about a plane crashing.

For children and teens, we want to make this as easy to understand as possible, so that's why we call them 'real world' worries and 'not real world' worries. By categorising their worry, children can figure out ways to manage and take control of the worry.

How can children and teens manage these worries?

Real world worries: When your child has a real world worry, this is something that is happening right now in their lives. It could be bullying, something at school or something at home. For this type of worry, a plan of action can be made to mitigate the worry, such as talking to the school about bullying or taking practical and physical steps to remove the worry.

Not real world worries: These worries can feel very real, but it is hard to make practical steps when it is something that hasn't happened. For this, we recommend making a 'plan of actions,' these are calming actions your child can take when that worry appears, such as taking deep breaths, talking to an adult about their worry or going to a calm space.

These slips help children and teens to jot down their worry as and when it appears and help them learn valuable lifelong techniques to managing worries and unhelpful thoughts.