Are worry dolls anti-Catholic?

[mary_giordano]

My 11-year-old son came home from school today wanting a Mexican worry doll that his Spanish teacher recommended. She said that if he placed one under his pillow he could give all his worries to the doll and they would disappear. This doesn’t sound right to me. Are these New Age or can they be a doorway to evil?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

From what I can tell from brief research online (source), “worry dolls” are small figures used to alleviate worry by “giving” the worry to the doll rather than continuing to brood over it. “Worry dolls” are sometimes used in the treatment of illness in children. Because human beings have both body and soul, they sometimes need to do something physical to alleviate a mental or spiritual concern. Catholics especially, with their sacramental worldview, should be able to relate to that (and please note that these dolls originate in a traditionally Catholic country). All in all, it seems reasonable to think that this is no more troublesome an activity than a small child confiding his anxieties to his teddy bear.