A colorful welcome mat on an outdoor doorstep, suggesting a friendly arrival or farewell moment

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Hellos and Goodbyes

Name: Hellos and Goodbyes
Availability: InStock
Author: Wanderly

Hellos and goodbyes are hard. In this social story, your character will learn why hellos and goodbyes matter, practice the building blocks of each, and pick the most comfortable way to greet and farewell the people they meet.

MannersConfidenceNew ActivitiesRelationship SkillsSocial StoryOur World

About This Story

What your child will experience

In Hellos and Goodbyes, your child steps into a story built around a real upcoming event — a playdate, family gathering, birthday party, or visit. As the narrator, they explore what greetings and goodbyes are for, practice three simple building blocks of each, and make their own choices: how they want to say hello, how they want to say goodbye, and what words feel right for communicating their comfort with physical contact.

The story treats every option — wave, fist bump, handshake, hug — with equal warmth. No choice is framed as more loving or more grown-up than another.

Why this approach helps

This is a social story that breaks a potentially overwhelming moment into small, manageable steps and gives your child concrete, rehearseable language before the real situation arrives. Validating bodily autonomy and giving children friendly words to express it builds both social confidence and self-trust over time.

Repeating this story before similar events can gradually reduce anticipatory anxiety and grow your child's emotional vocabulary around social moments.

What to notice as a parent

Feelings before vs. after — if your child consistently names big anxiety beforehand, that's worth a gentle follow-up conversation.
Greeting choices — a preference for no-touch options isn't shyness to fix; it's useful information about what feels safe.

Personalize This Story

Make this story truly special by adding these details:

✓What kind of social event is this story preparing the main character for?
✓Is there a specific person the main character will be greeting?
✓What is the name of the person?
✓Is there a trusted adult who will be with the main character during this event?
✓What is their name?

Story Questions

Questions your child may be asked while creating this story:

How is the main character feeling about it right now?
Which kind of greeting feels most comfortable for the main character right now?
Which way of saying it feels easiest for the main character?
Which kind of goodbye feels right for the main character now?
How is the main character feeling now?

Loved by Families

Join thousands of happy families who've empowered their children with personalized, interactive stories.

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— Taryn S

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“As an lifelong educator, I give this app an enthusiastic 5 stars+. With opportunity to choose and name characters, type of story and plot ... what could be more creative? What could be a more productive use of screen time? I love that this app was created and is carefully monitored by a Mom of young kids. She also happens to have technical/AI chops ... she was a Google Product Manager in their Education Products sector. The graphics are quite lovely, the story lines are fun and age-appropriate.”

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— Bill

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