Easing into transitions through social stories
Telling your story.
Transitions and changes can be extremely hard for children. Especially when a healthy routine and consistency has been established in their daily life. Children can often have big shattering emotional reactions to changes, which often leave parents overwhelmed and unsure how to proceed. What if there was a way to prepare our children for a transition or in order to make the change more predictable and digestible? Cue Social Stories.
Social stories are resources that many families across America use in order to prepare their children for upcoming changes in their life. This could be the anticipation of a new baby, potty training, starting preschool, or moving. Whatever the change maybe, the more information the child has as to what to expect, the better. This way children are able to have realistic expectations in their minds as well as ask any questions they may have ahead of time.
In order to make a social story, think about upcoming the transition or change your child will be experiencing. What necessary information should you provide in order to help your child form an accurate picture in their brain about what to expect? Maybe talk about how drop off will go at the new preschool and how you will be back after play time to pick them up. Talk about how mommy and daddy will bring a new baby home and the child can be a special helper. When the big kid bed is set up in their room, what are the expectations for bed time?
You can get as creative as inserting pictures of your child into a make shift book, or typing something into a word document. Next, read this story to your child multiple times throughout the week in anticipation for the change. I would recommend beginning to pre your child 3-4 weeks in advance depending on the magnitude of the change. As you read the book day after day, watch as your child’s questions evolve and they become more at ease about how to handle the transition. Before you know it, your child will be well equip to handle and conquer big changes!
