• Published by Aurel Saragih  

Parents, what do you usually do with your children when you have free time on the weekend? Maybe most of us still allow children to play with gadgets longer than usual so that children have entertainment. But did parents know that there are other choices of activities that can be done with their little one, namely reading books together? What are the benefits of reading books with your little one?

Increase bonding between parents and children

Reading books together can increase bonding between parents and children. When reading a book, all of the child's attention will be directed at the parents. Spend about 15 minutes a day to be able to maximize reading stories to children. Stories that are read don't have to be long but interesting and make children more excited, especially during quality time with parents. Surely the heart feels very happy if our children are excited to read books together?

Increase attention span in children

Kose (2019) in his research explained that reading storybooks to children in the narrative form will help children train themselves to focus their attention. In fact, children are also happier when reading narrative stories, especially when they are the main characters in the story. When children are interested, their attention will be fully absorbed in the story being read. Focusing attention on this story will train the child's ability to visualize the storyline being read,

Accustomed to existing social situations

Parents, do you know that children learn to adapt to social situations from the habits they learn either directly at home or from stories read in books? Storybooks always contain events that a child can imagine when he is outside. For example, when reading a story about a small child going to the dentist, the child will learn about what he might feel when going to the dentist through the main character in the book, what the dentist will do, and what he can do. if you are afraid of going to the dentist. Learning about things he can do when he is in a social environment is one of the benefits he gets from reading stories. So, don't get bored reading many kinds of stories to your children, and parents!

Train children to tell stories

Reading storybooks not only trains children to focus on what is being told but also on how they tell stories. Children will also learn that there is a storyline that must be conveyed. For example, there is the opening of the story like "one day..." then the contents of the story, and finally the closing of the story. The habit of listening to stories will make children understand how to tell stories that are interesting and are noticed by others.

Training children to read books is not easy, parents, but rest assured that children always want to learn and open themselves up to new things that are useful.

References :

Bartan, M. (2020). The Use of Storytelling Methods by Teachers and Their Effects on Children's Understanding and Attention Span. Southeast Asia Early Childhood, 9(1), 75-84.

https://www.readmio.com/articles/would-you-like-to-become-a-great-story-teller-for-your-child

https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/2020/07/5-reasons-personalized-books-should-be-a-part-of-your-home-library

Written by Sarah Aurelia Saragih, S.Psi of the BehaviorPals Centre.

Read books, quality time, parenting

Children 4 Years - 6 Years / 4 Tahun - 6 Tahun / Parenting / Pola Asuh / Family / Keluarga / Bored at Home with Children? Invite to Read Books Together, Parents!

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