• Published by Salma Safira Sukma from BehaviorPALS Center 

Reading books and listening to stories have been found to be beneficial for children’s vocabulary and language development. Stories from books are also good for children’s social and emotional development as well as logical skills. However, children can actually benefit even more from a personalized book which consists of stories that are based on your child's needs, experiences, daily life, and the people around them. By having a personalized book, you can have your child’s name as the main character of the book, have their favorite things or animals in the story, and other people in your child’s life as other characters as well. Being a part of a story in a book or storytelling will make them more excited to read or hear the story. 

Other positive impacts of having personalized books for your children include:

1. Elevates self-esteem

In a personalized book, your child can star as the hero of the story who has all of the wonderful qualities. Seeing themselves as a hero who is kind and brave will help them to feel empowered and confident. This way children will be able to see their potential and possibility to become something great in the world.

2. Provides opportunities for inclusion and diversity

Personalized books open a greater opportunity to introduce your child to inclusivity and diversity which are not always easy to find in children’s books. By having personalized books, you can add characters of people from different backgrounds or people with disabilities. If your child has special needs, you can also adjust the main story or characters based on your child’s condition and family background. This will make them feel more represented and increase their self-worth. 

3. Increases engagement

Children will be more excited, engaged, and curious about a story when they see themselves in it. The personalized elements in the story will also lead your child to read by their own choice. Moreover, when children are involved in an activity, the more likely they will focus and concentrate in doing it.

4. Improves literacy skills

Personalized books contain stories and information that are relevant to your child’s life which then creates familiarity and deeper connection for them. Through this connection, it will be easier for your child to understand the story and have better story comprehension. Furthermore, with personalized elements, children can have better knowledge and understandings of a word, therefore better for vocabulary acquisition. Having a personalized book where your child is the star of the story will also increase their verbal language skills as children will be more likely to tell the story to other people.

5. Increases interests in reading

As children become more engaged in a personalized story, it is also more likely that children will have higher interest in reading. Personalized books contain stories that are highly relatable for children, so reading can become an enjoyable activity for them. In the end, positive association between them and reading activity may encourage them to become more curious to read another book.

References:

7 mind-blowing benefits of personalised books. (n.d.). Wonderbly. Retrieved January 9, 2023 from https://blog.wonderbly.com/parenting/7-mind-blowing-benefits-of-personalised-books/ 

Reddihough, A. (September 26, 2019). The 7 key benefits of a personalised children’s book. Tickled Moon. https://tickledmoon.com/7-key-benefits-of-a-personalised-childrens-book/

Schulze, B. (n.d.). 5 reasons personalized books should be a part of your home library. The Children’s Book Review. Retrieved January 9, 2023 form https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/2020/07/5-reasons-personalized-books-should-be-a-part-of-your-home-library

Why personalized books are better. (n.d.). Snowflake Stories. Retrieved January 9, 20223 from https://resources.snowflakestories.com/articles/why-personalized-books-are-better/

By: Salma Safira Sukma Ikhsani, S.Psi. from BehaviorPALS

positive impacts, personalized books, personalized stories, children

Children 4 Years - 6 Years / 4 Tahun - 6 Tahun / Reading / Membaca / Education / Pendidikan / Positive Impacts of Personalized Books and Stories for Children

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