There is substantial research out there on the benefits of bedtime story telling for kids. And if you have been following my previous posts, you will have some understanding of why.
According to a recent research conducted by author Jim Trelease, regular reading of books “creates empathy toward other people, because literature values humanity and celebrates human spirit and potential, offering insight into different lifestyles while recognizing universality”.
Even if you don’t have the time to read, the practice of simply being there with your child, developing that sense of closeness and connection or even showing pictures from the book for 15 minutes can have a direct impact on your child’s well being and development.
In this post I am going to break it down with 7 benefits of bedtime story telling for kids
- Stories help children learn the value of books.
Reading books regularly stimulates children’s imagination, accelerates their emotional development and fosters natural curiosity. This is accelerated with the assistance of their parents. Reading can also become a favourite hobby, a child will learn to enjoy later in life
- Stories help children cope with feelings
When you read or tell a story that deals with feelings, it helps your child relate and know they are not alone. By sharing the story of how the character manages their feelings, the child can learn how they can also deal with their feelings too by relating to the character in the story.
- Stories help with children’s brain development
There is plenty of research and other articles discussing how story telling can help with children’s brain development. In addition to helping your child become more familiar with sounds, words and language, story telling also helps the child read more successfully later in life and improve their creativity.
- Stories help children learn about the world around them
By showing pictures, different colours, shapes, people, objects, numbers, places and things children quickly learn about the world around them because they are more likely to be able to identify what is what. It also helps when the story is told repetitively as this assists with their understanding and learning of these things.
- Stories help children adapt to change and new events
Through story telling, children identify with the characters as they move through their journey, faced with new challenges or events. By listening t how the characters deal with certain situations, children are able to learn how they may be able to deal with their own changes and events.
- Stories help lay the groundwork for the development of social, communication and interpersonal skills
Story telling can help children think about moral issues, develop their values, learn social cues and skills, understand assertiveness, communication skills, listening skills, manners, self awareness and how to deal with conflict or other situations that may come up in social interactions.
- Develops confidence and self-esteem
Story telling helps your child develop a sense of who they are in the world and by developing a story telling routine with your child, they will feel loved and supported as they develop a closeness with you. You can read more about this topic in the blog post here.
If you would like to have a chat or want more information on how to get a copy of my new book Sleep Magic over here or email me at danielle@daniellewright.com.au