The importance of story time for children

I recently visited one of Lucy Rowland’s fabulous Story Craft sessions and asked her how important it is to read to our children and about the vital role stories play in a child’s development. Here’s what she had to say…

Creating a love of books and reading is one of the greatest gifts that you can give your child.

Children that enjoy books and reading are proven to do better at school and go on to be more successful. Who doesn’t want that for their child? That all sounds great but how do you go about creating a love of books? Well it’s simple, make reading fun!

You can start reading to your child from birth. Sharing stories is a great opportunity to create some bonding time with your child. Find somewhere quiet to sit and cuddle up with a book. This is fantastic bonding experience between you and your child. Even if they don’t fully understand what you are reading to them, they will still benefit from listening to the sound of your voice, with the illustrations aiding their brain development.

Why is reading so important?

Reading to children helps to build their language and listening skills. Books which include rhyme are particularly important to preschool age children as they help them to understand language. Stories enable children to exercise their imaginations and learn about the world around them. Don’t forget that reading doesn’t always have to be a fairy tale though. It can also be reading a recipe or newspaper together. Enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction together. If you set the example and show your child that you read, they will be more likely to do this themselves.

So how do you make reading fun?

It can be daunting reading out loud. But don’t worry your children will love listening to you no matter how you do it. Perhaps you could start by reading with different tones of voices for the different characters. Try reading in different places around your home or at different times of the day. If you normally read in their bedroom at bedtime perhaps you could try reading to them at dinner time or in the bath. A recent favourite of ours was reading ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ under the kitchen table which we pretended was our ‘cave’.

They want me to read the same book every night!

If your child only wants to read the same book over and over again, that is ok (although it might not feel like it at the time…). Children learn through repetition and they will be building their pre reading skills. If you are at breaking point though then why not mix things up and take them to the library to chose a new book. Challenge them to find a new book they haven’t read before, or one about their favourite subject i.e dinosaurs. Children are like sponges and love learning something new and exploring new books. Remember the more you read to your child, the more they learn. You cannot read too much to your child. So, read to your child every day no matter where it is or what you are reading. You are creating valuable bonding time and giving them a love of books and reading which will benefit them throughout their lives."

Lucy runs weekly Story Craft sessions in Woodley, Tilehurst and Theale. She offers craft-based activities around the theme of a different book each week. When I went along to visit the book was Funny Bones which tied in perfectly with it being close to Halloween. Lucy had set up several stations, each offering a different craft activity. It looked like great fun, I was jealous not be joining in myself!

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