Growing up well: 11 good reasons to read him stories

For centuries, humans have been telling stories, especially to children. If this practice can be a good way to help them fall asleep, or simply to occupy them, it has many other advantages for the child, and for the bond that he forges with his parents. Non-exhaustive anthology.

Tell her stories to create a bedtime ritual

Whether it is every evening, or simply Sunday evening, or more occasionally, the fact of settling down near your child’s bed and reading a story to him before bed will have a definite benefit on his sleep. It’s proven: to sleep well, it is better to focus, a few minutes to a few hours before bedtime, on calm, relaxing activities. Screens, and in particular tablets, smartphones and computers, emit blue light that delays the secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Reading a book, meditating, or even just chatting calmly is activities conducive to falling asleep. The parents of several children know it well: little ones excited at bedtime, who laugh and heckle, will have much more difficulty falling asleep than children quietly installed in their bed with a book.

A child who will have been used to quiet time before bed will be in a better position to favor this activity on his own afterwards, once a teenager or young adult. Whether we regret it or not, the body loves rituals, and bedtime rituals are particularly important.

Of course, whether it’s during the day or at bedtime, nursery rhymes are always popular! It is a shared moment very appreciated by children.

>>> ‘Colas my little brother’, ‘A sweet song’, ‘In the moonlight’… Find all the lyrics to nursery rhymes on Momes.net

The evening story, a special moment with your child

Spending time with your child to tell a story is generally viewed very well by children. Between the professional obligations, the races, the mental load, the privileged moments when one is completely with one’s child are becoming rare. Also, trying to spend a few minutes with your child for the evening story allows you to meet, in peace, and why not to exchange around the story in question, or other subjects, possible difficulties at school, etc.

Spend time with the child through these evening stories reinforces his “feeling of importance” : the child feels that he matters to you.

Stories to stimulate your senses and fine motor skills

A book, even for a baby of a few months who seems to understand nothing about it, it has its interest! Because baby, who is still curious, will take the book in his hands, maybe nibble it or try to tear it (fortunately, baby books are resistant!) … Then he will have to lift the tabs, scan the image with your eyes to identify the details … In short, you will understand, a book stimulates the senses and motor skills, or all the functions allowing movement control. Reading particularly stimulates fine motor skills, which is the use and coordination of the small muscles of the fingers and hands.

Improving your language skills, one of the benefits of reading

For toddlers, reading a story by an adult can help relate objects to words : city animals, farm animals, household items, fruits and vegetables, etc. But even later, once the child speaks and reads, reading a story to him is a way to make him discover new words, new turns of phrase, expressions, and explain them to him. Vocabulary, grammar, syntax are therefore improved by reading new stories. Other languages ​​can even be learned through reading, as long as the pronunciation is correct, at the risk of misleading the child.

Read stories, sing nursery rhymes, to improve attention and listening skills

What parent does not sometimes dream of having a child able to remain calm, without moving, for several minutes? Getting your child used to listening to stories as soon as possible is a good way to achieve this. Reading a story requires being alert, attentive and focused at the same time.. The stories also cultivate the patience of children, who must wait and listen to the end if they want to know the end. Gold, these are not behaviors that are learned overnight, but over the long term. If the child has been used to remaining calm while reading a story from a young age, there is no reason for this to change as he grows older.

A story for children, to develop their imagination and curiosity

Stories of capes and swords, knights, dragons, monsters, animals of all kinds, strange creatures … The good thing about children’s literature is that it contains stories that are all more wacky and original than the last. However, many psychologists agree in saying that the imagination helps children to grow up, in our world so flat and ordinary. Imaginary figures and stories provide answers to the child’s situations, desires and anxieties, in a form that he understands and appreciates.. Telling him imaginary stories will therefore help him in this endeavor, in his psychic development. And later, a child who has had a fantasy world provided may well become an adult capable, when he feels the need to, to escape into a fantasy world, to escape stress and overwork.

Stories can also arouse the curiosity of toddlers: where is the rabbit hidden? How will Dimitri do without his friends? Who is the monster that Capucine is afraid of in the evening?

And who says imagination and curiosity often also says creativity!

Discover the good reasons to read stories to your child!

Stories that will develop his taste for reading

To love reading, it can be learned, it is acquired. It almost goes without saying: a child who has already had books in his hands will be more likely to read in adolescence and adulthood than a child who only knows reading through school, the school system. Reading stories to your child can allow him to discover themes, universes, characters that he will not have the opportunity to know in the school system. Enough to undermine any prejudices and preconceived ideas about reading.

A way to sharpen your critical mind

Reading a story to his child, when this reading is active, and punctuated by dialogues with the child, can allow him to take a step back, not to take everything for granted, to analyze, in short, to develop a critical mind. The acquisition of critical thinking is slow and gradual, so you might as well help your child in this acquisition. And for that, reading can help: every time you read a story to your child, ask them if they liked it, and ask them to explain why. You can even ask him to compare two stories, and explain why he prefers one over the other. Do the same on your side, with a sharper opinion. The same goes for the characters and their reactions to the ups and downs that arise. Little by little, these discussions and arguments will help your child to sharpen his tastes, preferences and critical thinking.

A story to address social issues

Homosexuality, disability, refugees, difference in culture, religion or skin color… There are many subjects on the difference that we may have to discuss with their child, because he asks questions, wonders, has heard bad or good about it at school, etc. Stories can be an opportunity to approach these subjects other than through words. It’s not always easy for a parent to find the right words! The notion of ecology and respect for nature can also be learned through reading. Children’s literature generally treats these topics with tact and gusto, without going overboard. So we can lean on it as a parent, to start the dialogue, even if it means discussing it at greater length once the story is over.

Stories as a mediator, to talk about subjects that are difficult to broach

Sometimes, because they particularly affect us, certain subjects are more difficult to broach than others, for us parents.. A divorce, a death in the family and the mourning which ensues, a surgical operation, an adoption plan… It will be necessary to talk to the child about it at some point, and yet words fail. Again, books can help you and be of great help. Of course, it is not the death of one of your relatives, just that of Little Rabbit, but whatever. Trust the children to make the connection to your situation themselves. And if he slips a “he disappeared as a great uncle?”, You just have to nod. There will always be time to talk about it again later when the subject is less painful.

On a much happier note, the arrival of a baby in the family may pose a question to you: will your oldest child take it? Is he afraid of being left behind? How to reassure him and prepare him for the arrival of a little brother or sister? Here again, a book featuring a similar situation can be a good communication medium.

For older children, books and stories can also allow you to discuss with them the question of puberty, hair or breasts that grow, the voice that shifts … So many subjects that your young teenager will probably not want to broach with you, but for which he would nevertheless like to have explanations and answers.

The evening story: a souvenir factory

In the manner of‘a non-culinary but literary Proust madeleine, adults to whom parents read stories when they were young often remember their favorite children’s story, the one they often asked their parents. Whether they are classic (Monsieur Seguin’s Goat, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the three bears…), Or more recent, certain stories mark us and captivate us particularly when we are children, to the point that we keep a fairly precise memory! Older, these moments of complicity with our parents remain in memory, and allow us to seal strong bonds between generations.