• Published by Nurizzati Sharfina, S.Psi from Sekolah Murid Merdeka 

When we try to remember story time when we were kids, it was the most awaited moment. We sat on the bed, chose the book we liked, and listened to our parents reading the book until we felt sleepy. After we became a parent now, perhaps there are a lot of activities to do before our children’s bedtime. For example listening to music, watching TV with family members, or watching a story video on a gadget. There is nothing wrong with these activities.

However, story time is critical for children and their development. At story time, the children are trained to sit still and listen. These two skills are important for school readiness. The children also need to pay attention for a relatively long time, in which it helps increase their attention span. Though parents still need to pick a book that has a suitable level with the children’s age.

Another benefit of story time is the children can develop their language and literature skills. When the parents practice read-aloud at story time, the children will see how certain letters form a word and how it sounds. By the time going, the children will develop an association between the word and its sound. It will support the children when they start learning how to read. Besides, read-aloud at story time could increase children’s vocabulary in a relatively short time. We often find words that we don’t use daily, like the name of things we don’t have at home or a formal word that we don’t use in daily conversation. At story time, parents can introduce these words to their children.

At story time, parents can start a conversation and interaction regarding the story. When parents give children a stimulus like a question or ask the children to elaborate the story, it proven to be beneficial for children’s reading skills, literacy, and reading comprehension (Parish-Morris, et al., 2013). By elaborating and relating the story with the children’s experience, they are trained to develop their emotional skills like empathy, self-awareness, and discussing their emotions. Additionally, the children who get story time with rich verbal interaction and affection will likely enjoy reading when they are older (Baker, Mackler, Sonnenschein, & Serpell, 2001).

Story time can be an opportunity for parents to introduce the children to good value and behavior. There are many books that contain stories of emotions, good habits, friendship, interpersonal relationships, and the relationship with nature. With story time, parents can relate the story with how the children could adapt the value and behavior on a daily basis.

We understand that parents are busy with child-bearing and house chores and they are overwhelmed. Watching video or TV can be an easier option instead of reading a story to their children. However, there is nothing wrong with spending some quality time to relax and read a story to your children, considering all benefits for child development.

Source:

Baker, L., Mackler, K., Sonnenschein, S., & Serpell, R. (2001). Parents' interactions with their first-grade children during storybook reading and relations with subsequent home reading activity and reading achievement. Journal of School Psychology, 39(5), 415-438.

Parish‐Morris, J., Mahajan, N., Hirsh‐Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., & Collins, M. F. (2013). Once upon a time: Parent–child dialogue and storybook reading in the electronic era. Mind, Brain, and Education, 7(3), 200-211.

screen time, gadget

Children 4 Years - 6 Years / 4 Tahun - 6 Tahun / Parenting / Pola Asuh / Family / Keluarga / The Importance of Story Time for Children

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