The Kissing Hand is the Perfect Book to Help Kids Through Separation Anxiety!

Inside: The Kissing Hand is a terrific story to help kids cope with separation anxiety. In The Kissing Hand, one smart mama gives her little raccoon the perfect trick to combat the separation blues. Check it out!

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The Kissing Hand book helps parents tackle separation anxiety!

The Kissing Hand: Mic Drop.

Whether it’s dropping a child off at school, leaving a kiddo with a babysitter, or trying to peel your little one off your leg when you’re saying goodbye at a playdate, it is not easy for many kids to let go and say goodbye.

Enter The Kissing Hand book, a heartwarming book and one of my favorites to help young kids cope with anxiety and stress when they have to leave a parent for whatever reason.

The Kissing Hand is a tender story for kids who have trouble saying goodbye.

In The Kissing Hand, one small raccoon is nervous to start school. Why? He doesn’t want to leave his mom, of course. Sound familiar?

Chester Raccoon only wants to do those things in which he feels comfortable— things like playing with his old friends, reading his own books and swinging on his own swing. How will he get over his nerves when its time to go to school for the very first time?

Leave it to Mom, of course.

Mrs. Raccoon has a long-held secret up her sleeve, and she teaches a frightened Chester about the “Kissing Hand.” She spreads Chester’s fingers into a fan, kisses the middle of his palm, and has him touch that same palm to his face as he recites some simple words:

“Mommy loves you.”

Kids calm down with “The Kissing Hand” at their sides!

With his mother’s kiss at his side, Chester calms down. He now knows that he has nothing to fear!

School may be scary at first, and it may not be easy to leave his mom, but whenever he feels himself getting anxious, he can always touch his paw to his face and remember that mom is always with him, even if she isn’t sitting right beside him in his classroom.

The result? One little raccoon heads off to school with confidence and courage — and even gives mom a present of her own.

OK — so let me be honest for a moment.

I first read The Kissing Hand long before I had kids, and it didn’t really resonate with me. It was an undeniably sweet story, but it just wasn’t one of the books that thrilled me during my writing studies.

But now, post kids?

The Kissing Hand had a huge positive impact effect on my own kids

Fast forward several years, and now I’m a mom of two boys. And if there is one thing I’ve learned about children’s literature after becoming a parent, it’s that the types of books I love are constantly evolving — because sometimes, I fall in love with a book after I see the effect it has on my own kids.

This is exactly what happened with The Kissing Hand. It got our family through so many challenging situations, and I can’t even recount all the times I left them confidently at school or with a sitter because they knew they could rely on their kissing hands if they needed to feel me close by.

The Kissing Hand instills comfort in both parents and children alike!

As a parent-reader, I found myself in Mrs. Raccoon’s actions (I know that sounds kind of funny, but its totally true!!)

I was struck by the notion of doing anything in your power — making up any game, trick or story — to instill a sense of confidence in your child and to ensure your little one knows you are always with him, even when you are not physically present. It was comforting to me to find my own desire to protect and help my children reflected back to me, and I loved learning a new a tool to help my kids through troubling situations.

As a child reader — well, let’s just say that my boys thinks The Kissing Hand is the best book ever. We have used our kissing hands so many times —particularly at school drop off — and it instills such comfort and reassurance in both of my kiddos.

The Kissing Hand book is a beautiful, gentle story, with a timeless message that will no doubt be incorporated into your daily lives. We hope you love it as much as we do.

Want the book? You can get it right here on Amazon, or support indie bookstores and get it from Bookshop.org!