A doll no bigger than a thumb carries your worry away while you sleep.
In faraway Guatemala, children have a tiny doll no bigger than a thumb. At bedtime you tell it one little worry — just one — and tuck it under your pillow.
While you sleep, the doll holds the worry for you, so your dreams stay light. In the morning the worry feels ever so much smaller. Would you like to whisper one to yours?
These are Guatemala’s muñecas quitapenas — “worry-taking dolls” — tiny figures no more than an inch or two tall, traditionally made by Maya artisans from scraps of wire, wood and brightly coloured thread wound around a simple frame. A set of six or more usually comes tucked into a small woven pouch or box.
The custom is simple and old: tell one worry to one doll, then tuck the whole set under your pillow. By morning, the story goes, the dolls have carried the worry away while you slept. The tradition has spread well beyond Guatemala and is now used in classrooms and children’s therapy around the world as a gentle way to talk about anxiety.