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Social Story for Two Homes
A two homes social story tells a child, in plain and predictable terms, how the week now works: which house, which bed, when the switch happens, and what comes with them each time. Children going through a separation often have two worries running underneath everything, and they are rarely the adult ones. Where will my things be? And is any of this my fault?
The story below answers the first with a lot of ordinary detail, and the second the only honest way a story can: it isn’t, and nobody in it thinks it is. It doesn’t take sides, explain the grown-ups’ reasons, or promise anything about the future that a parent can’t. Free to read aloud, or make one with your child as the hero, by name.
Sami and the Two Front Doors
A free story to read aloud tonight
Sami had two front doors now. One was blue and stuck a little in the rain, so you had to push it with your shoulder. The other was white, up three steps, with a mat that said HELLO in big letters even when it was dark.
Behind the blue door was Mum’s, with the kitchen that always smelt of toast and the bedroom with the star sticker on the ceiling. Behind the white door was Dad’s, with the sofa that folded out and the new bedroom that was still getting to know Sami, while Sami got to know it back.
There were two toothbrushes, one green and one orange. There were two pairs of pyjamas. But some things only came in one, and those things travelled: Bear, and the blanket with the frayed corner, and the book about the whale. They went in the red bag every Wednesday and came back every Sunday, and Sami packed them himself.
On the calendar on Mum’s fridge, Dad days had a little white door drawn on them and Mum days had a blue one. Sami could count the doors. That way nobody had to tell him where he was going. He already knew.
One night at Dad’s, Sami asked the question he had been keeping. “Was it because of me?” Dad put the book down. “No,” he said. “Not one bit of it. Not ever.” And then, because Sami was still looking at him: “That’s a grown-up thing. Your thing is being Sami.”
Then Dad read the whale book, and Sami fell asleep behind the white door with Bear under his arm and the blanket corner in his hand, the same as he did behind the blue one. The bed was different. The sleeping was the same.
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.
When should I read a story about two homes to my child?
Many families find it most useful once the new arrangement is decided and has a shape the child can learn, rather than in the middle of uncertainty. Reading it more than once, at both homes if that is possible, lets it become part of the routine in each. If the arrangement changes, the story can change with it.
What should I tell my child about why we separated?
Family and parenting organizations generally suggest keeping the explanation short, true and free of blame, and saying clearly that it is a grown-up decision and not the child’s fault. The details belong to the adults. If you can, telling them together, with the same words, keeps them out of the middle.
My child seems to be struggling with the change. When should I get help?
Some upset, clinginess or changes in sleep are common around a separation, and often ease as the new routine settles. If it is intense, lasts a long time, or is getting in the way of school or friendships, your pediatrician, the school counselor or a child psychologist is the right next step. A bedtime story is a comfort, not a treatment.