23 April 2018

When I talk with my children about their childhood, now they are grown up and have graduated from university, all three tell me that one of their best memories was when, before tucking them in to bed each night, I would read them a fairy tale or a page from the book we had chosen together to share. I too remember this as a magical time when the book I held in my hands became the instrument which brought us closer through an experience, all our own.

 

 

Reading aloud provides children with greater overall development, from every point of view.

 

Some scientific research shows that reading a book aloud to children, starting when they at a very young age, promotes their overall development in terms of intellect, language, emotion, mood and their ability to form relationships, with significant consequences throughout adulthood.

In other words, they develop a more open and positive approach to learning, knowledge and culture.

 

Developing the imagination and an approach to “problem solving”

 

LReading can be viewed as a gym for training the mind. In fact, children become used to thinking about different situations in their daily life and, with the help of fantasy, predicting what will happen. By putting themselves in the shoes of the protagonists, they begin to think about what they could do to solve their problems.

 

Words are born of the mind

 
Through reading, children are able to learn new words used within a specific context and become increasingly more confident and better at expressing their own ideas. By giving words to their thoughts, they are reinforced in the mind of the child, giving them a clearer, more permanent meaning. Children recognise and are ready to use them in future life experiences, greatly improving their ability to communicate vwith the outside world.

 

More space for expressing emotion

 

Through identifying with the hero of the story, children learn to recognise the emotions they feel and give them a name. They are then able to recognise and communicate ltheir own feelings when they experience them in their lives. They will get used to making a connection between words like joy, anger, fear, amazement and other moods and feelings.
By reading stories, children can be taught to recognise the feelings that make situations such as loneliness and abandonment particularly difficult.
Stories about fictional characters, create a sense of distance and make it possible for children to understand the emotions these generate (anguish, sadness, despair), preparing them to face situations that life, unfortunately, presents us. These situations would be more traumatic for children if they had never heard them spoken of and had not been processed through imagination.

 

Reading is a precious source from which empathy can develop.

By reading, children not only become used to identifying themselves with the main characters through their actions, but also through the feelings they have, leading to the development of empathy, or rather the ability to put themselves in the shoes of others, and understand their feelings.

 

Reading together brings the family closer

 

LShared reading has a positive effect on the parent-child relationship, because it represents an opportunity for mum or dad to take time out from their day to dedicate themselves to the children. It is an act of love, a positive and enjoyable experience, which strengthens the bond between child and parent, as well as making the child feel secure and safe. You can do it while sitting, laying next to one another, or holding your child in your arms. This is how shared feelings and intimacy between parents and children are reinforced each day, by showing affection and providing a sense of wellbeing and serenity.