Big day coming up? They'll walk in already brave.
First day of daycare. The dentist. A new sibling. Little Narratives builds your child a gentle 5-day plan — a personalised watercolour story and a song a day, starring them — so the big moment feels familiar before it arrives.
Run a childcare centre? Little Narratives for educators →
Real pages from real stories — each one starring a real child
The tears at drop-off. The dentist meltdown. The "I don't want a baby brother." Big moments are hard when they arrive out of nowhere — so we help them arrive gently, one small familiar step at a time.
Five minutes tonight. A gentler morning when it counts.
Add your child
One photo becomes a charming watercolour character. Their face never appears in the stories — their character does.
Tell us what's coming up
"She starts daycare Monday and she's clinging to me." Pick the moment, or just say it out loud.
Read their plan together
A story and a song a day gently rehearse the whole thing — plus a printable Go-Kit for the real moment.
Not one story. A whole gentle build-up.
Each day rehearses one piece of the big day — built around your child's name, their interests, and exactly what worries them.
Meet the idea
Who will be there
The tricky part
Practising it
You've got this
Every plan finishes with a printable Go-Kit — colouring pages, a search-and-find list for the real event, and sensory tips. A comfort during; a keepsake after.
This is the whole thing.
No demo reel, no mockups — actual screens from the app, in order. Free on iPhone and Android.
Whatever this week is throwing at you
Coming up?
We'll get them ready for it — anything at all.
Make a routine stick
A story + song with their name turns battles into habits.
Catch them being great
Today's win becomes tonight's story.
Gentle preparation isn't a nice idea — it's evidence
- Social stories, done right. Giving a child a "script" before they face a situation lowers anxiety and builds confidence — the method Carol Gray pioneered, personalised to your child.
- Used by educators & therapists. The same rehearsal approach professionals use for transitions and big feelings — for the exact thing on your calendar.
- They're the hero. Children pay far more attention when the story stars them — and that attention is what makes the preparation land.
The same engine powers educator documentation
Centres speak an observation and get EYLF-tagged, NQS-mapped, audit-ready evidence — plus stories the children adore, shared with families in real time. If your child's centre uses Little Narratives, their stories appear right beside the plans you build at home.
The evidence behind the gentle approach
Plain-English guides to child anxiety, why stories and songs work, and what the research actually says.
How to prepare a toddler for their first day of daycare: what the research supports
The first day of daycare is one of the biggest transitions of early childhood. Here is a practical week-before plan — visits, talking, story rehearsal, goodbye rituals and comfort objects — grounded in what attachment research actually shows.
Read the articleRehearsing the big day in a story: the science of narrative preparation for young children
Before a child can cope with a big day, they need a mental map of it. Four separate research literatures — Social Stories, pretend play, coping models and hospital preparation — converge on the same mechanism: rehearsal through narrative.
Read the article
Why transitions are so hard for toddlers — and what predictability does to a developing brain
Leaving the park, starting daycare, welcoming a sibling — transitions of every size are hard for toddlers, and for the same underlying reason. Here's the developmental science of immature executive function, and why predictability is a toddler's superpower.
Read the articleThere's a big day on the calendar. Let's get them ready.
Their first 5-day plan is free. Five minutes tonight; a braver kid when it counts.