• Published by Aurel Saragih  

Reading books with children is not only a medium for quality time but to train children in building good habits such as focusing while reading, studying social situations, and building self-confidence to express opinions according to what they read. Currently, there are many personalized books or books that are personally made to attract children's attention in reading. However, what themes can parents use as material from the books to be read? There are 5 themes that parents can explore; you know! Let's see below!

1. Friendship

The theme of friendship can be very fun to tell children. Parents can first search for the names of their children's friends. Storylines such as how to start friendships with other children, things that make children happy to be friends, and conflicts in friendships can be interesting stories to train children's curiosity when making friends. Imagine the child's excited expression when he hears his own friend's name in the storybook being read by their parents! Must be very happy!

2. Courage

Teaching children to be brave not only directly but also through story books. Use our child's name as the main character who is brave when appearing in public, dares to defend what is right, and so on. Kids will learn why being brave is a cool thing to do and how to do it. Children learn through modeling and stories they have heard.

3. Grief

Explaining grief is one of the most difficult things parents do for young children, especially when they are 5-8 years old. Reading story books about grief is one effort that can make children more imaginative of what grief is and how to deal with it. Interesting storylines and pictures from books can help children visually feel emotions such as sadness, disappointment, and anger when they lose something precious to them. When reading this book, invite children to share their experiences and parents should also share their feelings. Remember that children learn from our experiences.

4. Self Identity

Children are always looking for their identity in every moment. Parents will always color the shape of the child's personality to get a complete identity. Personalized story books can help children find this. Parents can also ask children like "you like meeting new people like that, right?" to convince the child that he is a child who is quite easy going.

5. Family

The family theme can be an interesting theme for children's story books. The child will begin to map out who the family members are and what are the characteristics of each family member, what each family member likes and dislikes, such as brothers, sisters, father or mother.

Spending at least an hour with your children reading story books with the above themes will be a fun activity that parents can do at home. There are so many questions that parents can explore while reading storybooks with their children. So, what theme do you want to share with your children this week?

Reference

Amanda. (2020, September 25). 10 powerful recurring themes in children's stories. Writers Write. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://www.writerswrite.co.za/10-powerful-recurring-themes-in-childrens-stories/

Newstreet, Carmen; Sarker, Amie; Shearer, Ragina (2018). Teaching Empathy: Exploring Multiple Perspectives to Address Islamophobia Through Children's Literature. The Reading Teacher, (), –. doi:10.1002/trtr.1764

By: Sarah Aurelia Saragih, S.Psi. from the BehaviorPALS Center

read books with child, personalized books, book themes

Children 4 Years - 6 Years / 4 Tahun - 6 Tahun / Reading / Membaca / Education / Pendidikan / 5 Book Themes to Read with Children!

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