New Baby Social Story

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Social stories use a patient and reassuring tone to teach children about social situations in a way that can be easily understood. Social stories are particularly useful for children on the autistic spectrum for whom social cues can be challenging and who often suffer anxiety if they do not know what to expect from a situation however social stories can also be useful for any child who is struggling to understand a situation or concept or needs help to understand a social skill or social cue, expectations, perspectives, common responses or is troubled about an upcoming event.

This social story is designed to prepare a child for getting a new baby brother or sister. There are 3 versions of the story; one for when mom is pregnant and the baby has not yet been born and then 2 for after the baby is born - one for a brother and one for a sister. These stories cover mom having to be in hospital, the baby coming to live in their house and how this might feel. It also prepares them for the fact that new babies cry and that mom and dad may need to spend a lot of time with the baby however it remains very positive and reassures the child that mom and dad still love them very much and that there will also be plenty of fun parts to having a new sibling.

These books should be used over and over to reinforce the point so I would suggest either putting the pages into a display book or laminating and binding them.

Clipart images courtesy of Kari Bolt.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Child will identify that a crying baby is communicating a need, not misbehaving.
Child will describe at least one calm behavior (staying quiet, gentle touch) to use around a new baby.
Child will state that their parents still love them even while caring for a new sibling.

Teaching tips

Read the version matching the child's actual new sibling (Brother or Sister) and the family's preferred spelling (UK or American); all three stories share the same page-by-page structure.
The "insert picture" page and the caregiver name-line are meant to be personalized before reading, so print and fill them in with the specific child's photo and caregiver's name ahead of time.
Because "Before a New Baby Arrives" covers the pregnancy and hospital stay while the Brother/Sister stories cover life after the birth, use them in that order across the pregnancy timeline.

Skills covered

Personalized social-story preparation — caregivers insert a family photo and fill in a caregiver's name before reading, tailoring the story to the specific child.
Emotional preparation for a sibling's arrival — the story sequences pregnancy, hospital stay, a crying newborn, and reduced parental attention into a predictable narrative a child can revisit.
Regional-language matching — UK and American spelling versions let the resource match the child's home vocabulary (mummy/mommy).

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