For most children, Christmas is a time filled with presents, excitement and - most importantly - the love and attention of their families.

But for children who are separated from their birth parents, it is not always a happy time.

It can bring back difficult or traumatic memories and they may have moments when they feel angry and sad about what has happened, or worried about the future.

This is where the British Association for Adoption and Fostering can help.

The charity has published a new children's book called Morris and the Bundle of Worries.

Morris the mole has a big bag of worries that fill up his bedroom and stop him sleeping.

There are wriggly worries, thorny, spiky ones and even some terrors, which Morris is too scared to touch.

He is too frightened to tell the other woodland animals until, one day, he finds a friend who can help him and he realises that problems are easier to deal with when you've got someone to talk to.

Adoptive parents, foster carers and indeed any adults looking after a "worried" child can read this book with young children to help them share and cope with things that may be troubling them.

A booklet called My Book of Worries is included at the back of the book for children to draw and write about what is making them anxious or concerned.

This publication - and many other resources for children and carers - can be found at www.baaf.org.uk.

David Holmes

Chief Executive

British Association for Adoption

and Fostering.