I remember how hard the transition was for J when we first brought his little brother K home. It was a big change that maybe (in hindsight) I didn't adequately prepare him for.
A social story like one of these below definitely could have helped prepare him for what to expect, even if he was just shy of age two at the time. Had I known he would be reading around the time K was born (hello, hyperlexia!), I could have really leaned into this strength of his to prep him for the big change.
Anyway, maybe you're expecting a baby now and want to prepare another child of yours? Or maybe it's your child's teacher that's having a baby? Or maybe your child's auntie is? Well, you can help prep them for the big change with one of these free social stories about a new baby.
Quite a few social stories below are editable so you should be able to customize it to fit your needs. I highly recommend you do personalize it with photos of relevant family members, the new baby's room, or anything else that might be relevant to having a baby.
**Also, I'm going to preface this list for any friends or family who know me in real life. No, I'm not pregnant. I'm simply sharing these social stories for other families who need it. It's ridiculous that I even need to put disclaimers like this in the first place, but I don't want anyone I personally know to read too much into things...Got it?**
This collection of new baby social stories was last updated on November 24, 2022. New stories were added, dead links were removed, and more details were provided to make sure you can find what you need quicker.
Free Printable Social Stories About a New Baby, Pregnancy, & Other Related Topics
Have you been looking for a new baby social story? Maybe something that explains a mother's or teacher's growing belly? Then look no further than these free printable social stories about a new sibling or baby. Some require you to have a Teachers Pay Teachers account (which is free!) before you can download them.
I've rounded up some options for you to explore. That way you can find the best new baby social story for you and your child. Or you can simply use ideas from different stories below to write your own custom story (free social story templates here to help).
Please note that just because a social story is listed here does not mean I endorse its content. After all, many social stories tend to be poorly written and/or teach autistic masking. Besides, I haven't read all of these stories word for word myself. So please read through the stories carefully before using them with your child.
1. New Baby Social Story for Preschoolers from Dana Hearnsberger on TPT - This story is very colorful with green background and clipart. The story says it's gender neutral, but uses the pronouns he/him to refer to the baby.
2. New Baby Social Story from The Traveling Therapist on TPT - I like that this story uses full color photos instead of clipart. It looks like it has pretty simple text.
3. Preparing to be a Big Brother or Big Sister from Kidmunicate - This story uses full color photos and focuses on a hospital birth. Apparently you can request a copy of the PowerPoint so you can edit it yourself.
4. Pregnancy Social Story: Mom is Having a New Baby from Little Puddins - Here's a social story that focuses on watching mom's pregnant body change. It uses lots of clipart and is fairly detailed.
5. New Baby Sister Social Story from Patricia Keane on TPT - The focus of this story is about having a baby sister, but it does come as a PowerPoint so I bet you'll be able to edit to be about a baby brother if you'd prefer. It uses some pretty random clipart and super simple text by the looks of things.
6. My Teacher is Having a Baby Editable Social Story from Autism The Teen Years on TPT - This story uses clipart and is editable. The focus here, obviously, is about the child's teacher having a baby and the changes that come along with that.
7. The New Baby is Here Social Story from Sara Curran Behavior Consulting on TPT - A simple story that comes in PowerPoint format so you should be able to edit it. It uses clipart instead of photos.
8. My New Brother Editable Social Story from A Latte Lucky Charms on TPT - Here is a story available in PowerPoint so it is editable. It uses clipart.
9. New Baby in the Family Editable Social Story from Amy Ravert on TPT - This story is written for a girl who is having a baby sister and what she can do to be a good big sister. However, it is editable (PowerPoint format) so you can customize it to fit your needs.
10. My Mom is Having a Baby Social Story from Autism Little Learners - There are three variations of this social story. One with the spelling "mom" as well as one with the spelling "mum" are included. It's also available in Turkish. These stories use clipart.
11. Having a New Baby Social Story from ABA Station on TPT - A small mini book that uses simple colorful icons to accompany the text.
12. Big Brother Social Story from Megan Doherty on TPT - Here's a story that uses a mix of clipart and photos to talk about becoming a big brother. It's available as a PowerPoint so you should be able to edit it.
13. New Baby Social Story from LessonPix - This story uses clipart. It's also just a sample so it will have the word sample written across each page. But it might give you some ideas for writing your own story.
Video Social Stories About a New Baby
Here are two video social stories that explore and talk about topics related to becoming a big brother or sister, pregnancy, and bringing a new baby home. You can use these in teletherapy sessions or at home. Videos are always a great alternative to printing off a story.
Like the stories above, some of the wording in these videos aren't always great. But I wanted to make sure you had lots of different options for discussing the topic of welcoming a new baby into the family.
Bringing a new baby home can be a big change for kids. I hope that these free social stories about a new baby will be a useful tool for you to ease the transition.
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