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Social Story for Waiting Your Turn
A waiting your turn social story shows a child what to do while they wait, because “be patient” names a feeling they don’t have yet and gives them nothing to do with their hands, feet or mouth. For a three- or four-year-old, waiting is not a pause. It is a long, empty, slightly unfair stretch with no visible end.
So the story below gives the waiting a shape: a place to stand, something to watch, a count, and a turn that definitely comes. Free to read aloud, or make one with your child and their favourite playground in it.
Leo and the Longest Swing
A free story to read aloud tonight
There was one swing at the park that was the best one, the red one at the end that went highest, and when Leo got there a girl in a yellow coat was on it.
Leo wanted it so much that his feet started to hop on their own. “My turn,” he said. “My turn, my turn.” The girl in the yellow coat swung up and back and did not look at him at all.
His grandma crouched down next to him. “Waiting is a job,” she said. “Here is how you do it.” You stand behind the yellow line, where the swing can’t reach. You watch. You count her swings, out loud, up to twenty. And then it’s your turn.
So Leo stood behind the line, and counted. Up was one and back was the same one. On eleven the girl’s dad called her name. On fifteen Leo’s feet stopped hopping, because they were busy standing still on purpose, which is harder than it sounds.
On twenty the girl in the yellow coat slowed down and jumped off, and Leo got on, and it was the best swing, and it went highest, and his grandma pushed. Somewhere behind the yellow line, a small boy in a green hat started counting.
That night in bed Leo counted to twenty again, slowly, the way you count swings, and somewhere around fourteen he stopped needing to.
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.
Why is waiting so hard for young children?
Because the things that make waiting bearable (a sense of how long things take, distracting yourself, trusting that the turn will come) are still developing in young children. Waiting is easier when it has a visible end and something to do in the meantime, which is why counting, timers and “after her, then you” tend to help more than “be patient.”
What can my child do while they wait?
Give them a job. Count the other child’s turns, watch a timer, stand on a spot, hold the thing they will use next, or sing one song. A child with something to do is still waiting, but they are not just enduring it.
How do I practise waiting at home?
Small, low-stakes turns work well: a board game, taking turns to choose the bedtime song, a sand timer at the table. Praise the waiting itself, not only the turn when it comes: “You waited all the way to twenty.” That is the part you want them to notice they can do.