The Rubberdale Training Grounds - dirt track and ramps
A winding racing track with tire marks, bright colors, and room for many racers side by side
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Room on the Track

Your best friend is laughing with somebody new. Somebody who isn't you. That's your best friend, and there's only room for one best friend, right? So what happens when the group starts to get bigger?

ResilienceSelf-ManagementRelationship SkillsDecision MakingSchool ReadinessCBTRubberdale

About This Story

What your child will experience

In Room on the Track, your child pilots their chosen racer through a moment most kids know well: watching their best friend laugh with someone new and feeling that sharp, confusing pang.

Through a short series of choices, your child decides how their racer handles the feeling — whether to hold on tight or open up to a bigger group. The story follows the feeling honestly before ever suggesting a reframe, so jealousy gets real airtime before anything shifts.

Why this approach helps

This story is built around the shift from scarcity thinking (there's only room for one) to abundance thinking (more friends is just more) — a pattern closely aligned with CBT-style reframing, delivered through play rather than explanation.

Critically, the jealousy is never rushed or shamed. Research consistently shows that naming and validating a feeling is the first step toward managing it. The story does that work before any choice is offered.

Over time, stories like this help children build emotional vocabulary, practice sitting with uncomfortable feelings, and develop the habit of questioning their first (scarcity) instinct.

What to notice as a parent

Which choice your child makes — holding on or opening up — can be a gentle window into how they tend to respond when they feel left out in real life.

How they choose to join the group matters too. The story offers several options for their character to both join the group while still holding onto their friend: join together, come up with a check-in signal, or come up with an exit strategy. These are mini-scripts that your child can choose from that are familiar next time they face this kind of situation.

If your child wants to talk after, a simple opener works well: "Did that ever feel familiar? Has that happened to you?"

Personalize This Story

Make this story truly special by adding these details:

  • ✓Pick a racer.

Story Questions

Questions your child may be asked while creating this story:

  1. What was the first thing the main character thought?
  2. What did the main character feel?
  3. What did the main character do?
  4. How did the main character and their friend jump into the chase?
  5. The crew had almost the whole name. What word did the main character put on the end?
Create This Story

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