In Lola's Pocket Hug, Lola's mom tucks a tiny heart into her pocket and tells her that love can travel with her wherever she goes. When the day feels big, Lola touches the heart, takes a breath, and keeps going. That is the whole idea, and it works at real drop-offs because it gives a child one concrete thing to do with a feeling that is otherwise too large to hold.
Here is the routine as it plays out for a lot of families. Adjust the words to sound like you.
The night before
Read the story together, then make the heart. Print the pocket hug sheet, let your child pick one and color it, and cut it out together. Fold it small. Decide together which pocket it lives in. That decision matters more than it sounds: the child now owns the plan.
Make one for yourself too, and say so. "I am carrying mine all day. When I touch it, I will think about you." You have just turned a goodbye into a shared thing.
In the car
Check the pocket together. Say the line from the book, or your own version of it: "Love travels with you." Keep it short. Long reassurance speeches tend to signal that there is something to be worried about.
At the door
Keep the goodbye the same every day and keep it brief. A hug, the line, a wave, and go. If your child is upset, you can name it without fixing it: "You are feeling worried. That makes sense. Your heart is in your pocket, and I will be right here at pickup." Then hand off to the teacher and leave. Lingering tends to extend the hard part rather than shorten it.
At pickup
Ask about the heart before you ask about the day. "Did you touch your pocket hug today? When?" Kids will often tell you exactly which moment was hard, which is information you would not get from "how was school."
When it is not working
Some children need a week or two of the routine before it clicks. Some need the heart to be something sturdier than paper, like a small stone or a felt heart in the same pocket. And some drop-offs are hard for reasons a heart will not fix. If distress is intense and lasting for weeks, or shows up as stomachaches, sleep trouble, or refusal, talk with your pediatrician or the school counselor. The pocket hug is a comfort tool, not a treatment, and it pairs well with real support.
For boys who want their own story
Nolan's Pocket Hug tells the same idea with a glowing heart and a boy at the center. Same routine, same line.
Print the pocket hug sheet, or send a pocket hug to a grown-up who is having a hard drop-off week too.