Today, my littlest was having a hard time. He was hurt. He was scared. Tears were flowing and his voice was raised. The combination of a small cut on his hand and the fear over how he got cut came together for a big emotional experience.
I was having a hard time calming my son down. I tried to cuddle him, but he resisted. I asked him about what happened, but his upset only grew. I rubbed his back, reassured him with my words, and offered a Band-Aid, but nothing worked.
Then I climbed up onto the couch with a library book and offered to read it to him. He immediately crawled into my lap and quieted down. We read the simple story three times and paused many times to find the different characters we were following in the illustrations.
In case you’re wondering, the simple story was All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. I think any number of books could have helped my son in that moment, but the fact that it was a gentle, safe story about inclusion was extra helpful.
The power of the story to make space for calm, connection, and regulation really registered for me. Later, I realized it wasn’t just today’s story that soothed my child — it was the many stories we have read in the past.
When our children are small, our daily rituals create circuitry in their brains. As we read stories to our kids over and over in times of calm and safety, we teach them that a story isn’t just a story. It’s a time of calm and safety.
My son needed a moment of calm and safety, and he recognized that in our book reading ritual. So I mothered him in a way that we both love — I mothered through stories.
We read our book and it was so much more than just reading a book together. My child and I connected over the story. We cuddled. We saw ourselves and each other in its pages. We listened to each other and laughed together and asked questions and learned together.
Calming my child with a book today was not an exception. It was the rule that we have built over these last three years of reading together. I have mothered through stories countless times in the past and will countless times going forward. I know I stand with generations of parents connecting with kids through the power of stories.
I’m grateful for these stories that offer us moments of connection. These stories glue us together.