Oliver Otter and the Willow of Courage: A Bedtime Story for Kids About Fear | Hey Mom Story Time

It's the third "but what if" of the night.What if there's something under the bed. What if the shadow on the wall is real. What if I have a bad dream again.Press play.Oliver Otter lives by a sparkling river, under a wise old willow tree. He loves splashing and exploring, but at night, when the shadows stretch long, his belly flutters and his tail droops. The willow doesn't tell him the shadows aren't real. She tells him something better: fear is a helper. It shows up when something is new, or unknown, or genuinely a little scary, and there's a quiet, slightly silly way to make it smaller.Oliver learns to breathe in like he's sniffing river flowers, and breathe out like he's pushing soft clouds across the sky. The same trick your child can use tonight.Best for: kids who are scared of the dark, anxious about new places, or having a season of bad dreams. Ages 4 to 7.Length: about 7 minutes.💛 Want the parent guide that goes with this story?Get the free Emotion 101 PDF: a science-backed guide to big feelings (yours and theirs). It includes a section on fear, what it's actually doing in your kid's nervous system, and what to say when "I'm scared" comes up at 11pm.→ 🎧 New here? This is Hey Mom Story Time, audio stories for kids ages 4 to 7, written to gently shift the mood, settle the body, and make the last part of the day feel like something good.