A mini family to help ease anxiety

Debbie Lynn Rutkowski, 39, from Buffalo, New York first painted her face onto a bead to help her son Nathan, aged five, who was nervous about starting kindergarten.

Going to school with a mini-replica of her, clipped onto his belt hole and tucked into his pocket, Nathan felt more at ease.

Within a year she had started Pocket People and now, three years on, has made more than 500 for children dealing with separation anxiety from losing or missing loved ones.

She believes the tiny tokens can help to reassure and comfort people of all ages, noting that her son, now nine, used it up until first grade and then sporadically during periods of stress.