Books to help kids recover from lockdown

Regular readers will know that I advocate snuggling up with a story as a brilliant way to raise sensitive issues with children indirectly and engage them in thinking about ideas. So you won’t be surprised that I think reading books together has an important role to play in helping kids recover from lockdown.

(By the way, if you want to know more about exactly how to use books in this way – which questions to ask and how to use the story as a launchpad – watch my free 10 minute video tutorial on Using Story Time to Understand your Child Better).

As I write this, we are one year into the coronavirus pandemic and the UK is emerging slowly from a national lockdown. The impacts of a year of social distancing and interrupted schooling on children’s well-being are becoming apparent. There are no quick fixes. However, reading stories together, with intention and curiosity, offers a therapeutic combination of connection, security and challenge that could make a significant contribution to helping your child bounce back from the impacts of social distancing and isolation.

Almost any book can be used as a launchpad for a conversation with a child. But I thought I would save you some time and draw together a few lists of children’s books that parents will find especially useful in helping kids recover from lockdown.

All of these booklists contain links to Amazon for ease of reference (these are affiliate links so I do receive a tiny commission if you purchase) – but please feel free to support independent booksellers and choose to buy them elsewhere 🙂

Change

Change can be challenging for children. If your child is worried about separating from you after a long period at home, there are some really comforting story books in this list of Books to help children cope with change.

Or, if the end of lockdown means a return to work, perhaps these Storybooks for children about working mums might be useful?

Anxiety

Many children are feeling anxious about coming out of lockdown and going back out into a world they have been told isn’t safe. These Books to help children with anxiety offer a gentle, therapeutic way to support them. (You will also find lots of online resources in this resource list for supporting children and teenager’s mental health).

Feelings

If your little one is struggling to manage their feelings in general, these Books for talking to children about emotions will be great for starting conversations about how emotions feel and what to do about them.

Social skills

Help your child catch up on lost socialising with these Books to teach children social skills (2-7yrs). Or, if your child is shy and reluctant to speak up or join in, these Children’s books about shyness might be worth a look?

And if the return to school has meant a return to some problematic friendships, I recommend these Books to help children manage friendship problems.

If you have found a particular book useful in helping your kids recover from lockdown, please do share it in a comment below. We’d love to know about it!