How to read the Gabby’s stories with children and encourage conversation
Some children are not very talkative, and it is hard to know what they are thinking when they are going through a stressful situation.
Smaller children do not know what is really happening except that their daily routines are disrupted and that may stress them out
Changes affect children differently.
Lumpy socks Key points
- Gabby likes summer
- The season is changing
- Gabby needs to wear different shoes
- Gabby needs to wear socks
In this story, Gabby’s problem was not the wearing of socks, but that her routines were changing, now that summer was over.
Since Gabby expresses her frustration with changes by focusing on her socks, Mom encourages Gabby and helps her see that wearing socks can be fun as the season changes.
Notice that with each season’s celebration, such as Halloween, her socks were not lumpy because she likes the festivities that come with each season, and soon Gaby forgets the lumps in her socks.
Think about what is currently happening in your child’s life. Learn to identify what your child is not saying, by asking open-ended questions. “Tell me about the games you played today”
People often ask me why not use magic or imaginary solutions such as “presto” to make the stressful situations disappear in the Gabby stories. My answer is that children’s problems are real, and my hope is to help them learn fundamental day-to-day coping skills.
Side note: I talked with people who mentioned their issues with socks when they were children or parents who spoke about their children not liking to wear socks with a stitched seam inside. Yes, a Lumpy sock is a real thing!
