A social story about waiting

A social story about waiting tells a child what to do with feet and hands while a grocery line, or a kettle, is not finished. The story below is the checkout belt and a kettle on the stove.

Choosing purchases, before anyone pays, is the grocery story.

The checkout belt

With Mom at Checkout

I go to the grocery store with Mom. At checkout we stand in a line.

Our food rides the black belt toward the scanner. The scanner beeps for each item. Other shoppers' food uses that belt too. One order finishes, then the next order starts.

I do not pick which order is first.

A smooth stone is in my pocket. I hold the stone until our bags are full.

I may want a second sweet. Mom and I already picked one. The second sweet is not part of this wait.

Mom may thank me for staying with her. That thanks means I am still with her.

The wait ends when the bags are packed and we walk to the car. At home the stone goes in the cup by the door.

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The kettle at home

Home has a wait with no other shoppers.

The kettle heats water for two cups. It shuts itself off when the water is hot. Before that, I am waiting.

I set the cups on a tray. The tray is my part. Asking "is it hot yet" does not heat the water faster.

The shut-off is the end of this wait. Then we pour.

Read the belt story before a shop, and the kettle story before a calm morning at the stove. If your store has no black belt, say what it does have. A social story that describes a belt you will not see is a false preview.

Praise that names the wait

The CDC's parenting notes use the grocery checkout as the picture of attention. If a child waits by your side, you can say, "Thank you for being patient and staying by me." If the child keeps asking for another sweet after you already agreed on one, the notes say to skip the extra attention for that asking. Attention right after an action makes that action more likely the next time (Tips for Responding to Behavior, accessed October 31, 2026).

Say the praise when your child is actually with you. Praise for a wait that has not happened yet teaches the sentence to mean nothing. Waiting for a toy is taking turns.

Carol Gray's quiz uses a line of children after recess as a literal detail: they may move a little, talk, or laugh, and the social story can say so. The same quiz says a social story does not state a popular opinion as if it were a fact (Answers to the Social Story Quiz, accessed October 31, 2026). "This line will be short" is an opinion unless you know it. Write "the line may be long" if that is the usual Saturday.

Another social story can show up by email from the email list for Social Stories.

When waiting needs a pediatrician

A fidget in a grocery line is ordinary. Call the pediatrician if your child bolts from the store, gets hurt while waiting, or your family has stopped shopping because every line falls apart. Mention a new change in sleep. The praise sentence covers one errand.

FAQ

What can a child hold while waiting in a grocery line?

A stone that already lives in a cup by your door, put in the pocket before you leave. A toy from the rack is a new purchase, not the plan you wrote down.

What if the line is longer than I told my child?

Say so, and keep the same stone in the hand. "I was wrong. The line is longer. We are still here." Do not invent a shorter line to end the upset.

What should we bring if we call?

The words you already use beside the belt, including the praise sentence.