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Social Story for a Night at Grandma’s House
A night at Grandma’s social story tells a child what will be different, what will stay the same, and above all when they will be picked up. For most children the house itself is not the worry; they love it there in the daytime. It is the night part: a bed that smells different, a clock that ticks, a landing light in the wrong place, and the grown-up who always says goodnight not being the one who says it.
The story below keeps the routine the same in a new house, names the strange noises before they happen, and ends with the car pulling up in the morning, exactly when promised. Read it a few nights before. Free to read aloud, or make one where your child is the hero, by name.
Ada’s Night at Grandma’s House
A free story to read aloud tonight
Ada’s bag had her pyjamas in it, and her toothbrush, and Rabbit, and a note from Mum that said what time bed was, which Grandma read with her glasses on and then stuck to the fridge as if it were very important, which it was.
Grandma’s house was the same as in the daytime, mostly. The same biscuit tin. The same cat, Pepper, who did not get up for anyone. But at night it had different sounds: a clock in the hall that ticked like someone walking slowly, and pipes that knocked when the heating came on, which Grandma said was just the house getting comfortable.
They did bedtime in the same order as at home, because Mum had written it down. Bath, pyjamas, teeth, one story, one song. Grandma did not know the song, so Ada taught her, and Grandma got the middle wrong, and they both laughed, and that was nearly better.
The bed was big and smelt of Grandma’s washing powder, and the landing light was on the other side, so the stripe under the door came from the left instead of the right. Ada noticed. Rabbit noticed. They decided it was fine.
In the night Ada woke once and did not know where she was for a second, and then she heard the clock walking slowly in the hall, and remembered. Grandma’s house. She turned over. Rabbit was there.
In the morning there were pancakes, which never happens at home, and at ten o’clock exactly, which is when Mum said, the car pulled up outside. Ada ran to the window, and then, to everyone’s surprise, asked if she could stay for lunch.
Read it a few nights running rather than on the morning of. Familiarity is the part that works. The aim is that by the day itself, none of it is new.
How do I prepare my child for a night at their grandparents’ house?
Tell them what will be the same and what will be different, and say when you’ll be back in a way they can picture: “after breakfast,” not “in the morning.” Send the comfort toy, and write down the bedtime order for the grandparents so it can happen the same way. A daytime visit to see the room they will sleep in is often worth it too.
What if my child wants to come home in the night?
Agree the plan with the grandparents beforehand. Some families decide that a phone call is fine and a pickup is too; others agree to wait until morning unless the child is very upset. There is no wrong answer, but it helps if everyone gives the same one. A first night that ends early is not a failure. It is a practice run.
My child calls them Nana and Pop, not Grandma. Can the story say that?
Yes. When you make a personalized story, pick “My own…” at the story world step and type the place the way your child says it, such as Nana and Pop’s house, and the story is set there with your child as the hero.