So when your child has a little owie, like they've fallen and scraped their knee, or something a bit more traumatic like major surgery or maybe a grandparent or family member has passed away, one of the most powerful things we can do is help them tell a story. What's important is that we talk about the details or the events that have taken place as well as the emotions or the feelings around the circumstances. And when we do this, we allow our child to deal with the emotions and understand what happened so that they're not flooded by the emotions but they're also not cut off by it. So for instance, this even works well with a 6 month old who's maybe sitting on the floor and has fallen over and bumped her head. I would walk over to her, scoop her up, that hurt didn't it? Pat her, comfort her, like our instincts tell us to do. And then I would say, let's tell the story of what happened. You were sitting and you fell over and you bumped your head. Ow that hurt. And then mommy came over and picked you up and comforted you. And this is the kind of thing that can be so powerful. When our children get older we can make homemade books to tell the events that are troubling to them and their feelings about them. Including things that are coming like starting a new school or moving or things that might be difficult. Telling a story that makes sense either through a homemade book or just in the moment can be a really powerful way to help our child deal with difficult things.