These short stories are meant to be listened to before bedtime to help children relax and transition into a restful sleep. These stories combine the practices of psychotherapy and meditation, with the creativity of storytelling to keep children engaged. Meditation is a Buddhist practice used for centuries, which involves becoming aware of one's physical sensations and state of mind. This practice in mindfulness allows for calmness to overcome anxieties and restlessness. 

In psychological studies, children have been found to be less stressed, have better emotional control, have lower rates of depression, and be more pro-social after participating in mindfulness practices once a day. The more often one practices meditation techniques, the greater these effects will be. 

Kids can fall asleep listening and visualizing. The stories in this book have been written based on psychological evidence, to encourage the well-being of young children and to help them learn adaptive strategies for dealing with stress and anxiety. 

Each story will begin with a quick meditative practice, which focuses on grounding techniques, breathing techniques, and mindfulness. This quick guided meditation will help relax your child and prepare them for sleep. The stories that follow the meditations focus on building self-awareness, confidence, emotional intelligence, and self-efficacy through the themes of independence, exploration, and security. Together, your child will learn to calm their mind and body while being gently guided to imagine stories that will help with their anxiety during the day. 

When I was a young child, I developed severe anxiety once I started kindergarten. I cried every day in class, some days I even tried to run away from school. I was overcome with stress and I worried about everything and anything. Bedtime was always really tough for me - all of the anxious thoughts filled my head and I could not relax. My mom would sit with me in the dark and we would talk about my anxieties. She tried every technique she could think of to help me calm down. This was a big reason for me wanting to study psychology, to understand how the human brain works, and to hopefully develop some tools to help families like mine cope with these daily stressors. 

I hope you and your little one are able to find some calmness in these stories. I wish you a night of restful sleep for a healthy and happy tomorrow!