9 Benefits of Story Time

Reading and the telling of stories to your children is not only great fun for your children and an amazing opportunity to bond with your children, it also comes with great benefits for your children and offers a wonderful way for your children to learn.

Remember that children learn best through play and what better way to do this than story time? You can include story time in your bedtime routine with your child and you can also find ways to incorporate story time during the day even if you are a busy parent such as making use of a children’s Youtube channel that reads story books.

Here are some things you should know about the benefits of story time for your kids.

Teaches Language Skills

From birth your baby will be listening to the rhythm and pattern of your speech and telling stories, whether from reading a book or just telling a story, is a great way to expose your child to language on a regular basis.

Nursery rhymes and singing songs with your child will also have many amazing language benefits.

Teaches Life Lessons

Story time will give you a great opportunity to teach your child life lessons in a way that won’t seem like a lesson, it will seem like fun and the best part is that it will be memorable for your child.

There are many books you can buy that have specific themes, such as books that teach children respect. You can also choose books that will start to teach your children about your religion or beliefs. If you are religious you can start reading your child bible stories.

There are great children’s books available on every subject from preparing for a new sibling to dealing with a death in the family. The video above shares a story showing the consequences of eating too many sweets which is something every little child needs to understand.

Increases Attention Span

Children just love listening to stories which makes this a wonderful way to increase your child’s attention span. Young children find it incredibly hard to sit still and concentrate but when it is story time they find it so much easier. When your child learns to pay attention to stories this skill can later be applied to other activities.

Enhances Visual Skills

As your child looks at the pictures in the book while you read he will start to associate the pictures with the words. Very often the pictures explain the book visually and in addition to that the pictures can include more information that is not shared in the story. Ask your child to look at the pictures and explain what he sees. This can add an extra element of fun to the story and give your child a deeper understand of the story.

In addition to this visual skills are a vital part of learning – these are the skills that will be needed for recognising letters and numbers so it will be very beneficial for learning how to read and for all academic activities in the future.

Teaches Auditory Processing Skills

Auditory processing skills are essential for your child. It is essential for your child to be able to process and understand sound. After you have told your child a story ask your child questions about the story to help him develop his auditory processing skills.

Teaches Reading Skills

Your child will pick up reading so much quicker and easier if you read books to your child every day. As your child gets familiar with a story and starts to follow along in the book he will start to recognise words. If you child is around 4 or 5 years old you can start putting your finger on each word as you read. It is only natural that your child will start to associate the written word with the spoken word, with the natural progression being reading.

Develop Your Child’s Imagination

Imaginative play is essential for your child’s healthy development. Imaginative play helps your child’s social and emotional development.

This will spark your child’s curiosity and help your child to formulate new ideas, concepts and images without having to see them. This will help your child to understand the world around him, to express himself verbally and physically, to act, interact and react.

Emotions and Behaviours

Stories can teach your children about new situations and to identify and feelings and behaviours in others in a way that is safe and non-threatening.

Discussing emotions and behaviour with your child can be an eye-opener for parents and very helpful for children. Young children can find it hard to identify and control their emotions appropriately. Story time is an opportunity for you to ask your child why he thinks a character in the story did something, how they might be feeling and what the consequences are for the things he did. This will help your child to explore his own feelings and to be compassionate and understanding towards others.

Create A Love For Books

If you show your child how amazing the world of stories and reading can be it will encourage your child to love books. This will be a great foundation for your child. If your child is a good reader and has a love of reading this will benefit your child right from the start of school throughout his entire life of schooling and his career.