A Bedtime Story

My sister called the other day with a wonderful suggestion that I hadn't thought of. Incorporating bedtime stories into healing solutions for worries and concerns for our children. It's easy...think of a problem you're child is worrying about and make up a story about that problem and incorporate your solution.

For instance...germs. Oh the dreaded germs. Let's see what we can come up with...

Once upon a time there was a little butterfly who loved to fly through the air. It was her favorite thing. She would fly all day if she could. In fact, she hated to land because she just knew that her feet and hands would get dirty. She just wanted to keep flying and never land and never have to get dirty. So she tried it. She flew and flew and flew and flew. She flew way up high and way down low. She flew in circles and she flew in triangles and she even flew in hearts. But soon she started to get tired and she wasn't sure how much longer she could fly. She tried to keep going, but eventually she had to land and rest her wings. And even though she really didn't want to, she had to. So she did. She landed on a big fat mushroom and immediately fell asleep. She slept for a long time and when she woke up she took off up in the air again and flew and flew and flew and flew. Again she tried to fly forever but she couldn't do it. She got to tired and had to land. This time she was a little dizzy and accidently flew in an open bathroom window and landed on a potty. Here she fell asleep without even knowing where she was. When she woke up, she looked around, found the window and flew out, once again attempting to fly all day long. Of course, she couldn't, and when she was so tired she couldn't even flap another wing, she fell into the muddy den of a pig and once again slept. Soon, however she woke up to the "snort-snort" of pig nearby. She opened her eyes and wondered how any animal could be so dirty. So she asked the pig. The pig looked at her and said, "The dirt and the mud keep me cool and make me feel happy. Dirt doesn't hurt you." But the butterfly was not convinced and told the pig how many germs could be on him and how she wanted to fly forever and never touch the dirty ground. The pig looked at the poor little sad butterfly and said, "Germs are just a part of life. We each have special bodies that fight germs and keep us safe. How many times have you landed and fell asleep and woke up to fly again? What happened to you? Nothing. You'll be okay." The butterfly thought and thought and realized that she had touched the ground a lot of times in her life and nothing bad ever happened because of it. Maybe the pig was right. Maybe our bodies are special and dirt wasn't so bad. Wow! Life would be a lot easier if she could land and rest without having to worry about dirt and germs. She decided to try. And she did. She flew and landed and flew and landed and flew and landed and flew and landed. And she was okay.

I think the key is to keep it generic enough that your child won't think you are singling them out, but still focused around a well-known problem. Perhaps within the story your child will find a solution for their problems too (without the dreaded parental lecture).

Thanks Shanee, for this idea. It is especially helpfull because it is a way of fighting the worrying without actually saying, "Your brain is broken. You have OCD." If Mialee has a chance of growing out of this, I don't want to hinder her or disable her with a label. Try it! Maybe it will work for you too!