Can you read me a story I actually like please?
It is incredibly important for parents to read to their children. This is because hearing stories is one of the best ways for children to find out about the world, to learn the difference between right and wrong and to discover things about the world that would never get a chance to in real life. It is also a way to develop their imagination which is very important for everything they do in later life. A lack of imagination stunts people’s ambitions, makes them generally pessimistic and prevents them from being creative and able to have empathy for other people.
So what should you read children?
Children can’t just be read any old story though, they need to have something which will speak to them, and not a middle aged mother or a trade unionist or a retiring professional. It needs to be on their level. Here are some ideas…
Things They Can Relate To
Try to select books that have characters that are about the same age as your child. The reason books like Harry Potter were so popular is because the main character was going to school for the first time in the beginning and was going through a lot of the emotions children on the same age were feeling. Plus then the character grew up with the children who started reading from the beginning, always keeping pace with their situation in life…sort of.
Adventures
Another fundamental aspect that children look for in stories is adventure. Books like the ‘Famous Five’ were all about the adventure. Just like adults, kids like to hear about mysteries and hidden treasure because it sparks their curiosity…something every child has in abundance. They do need to be quite simple though and have some clear plot markers to allow the child to keep up, otherwise they will feel lost and loose interest.
Comedy
As with pretty much every kind of entertainment, it never hurts to have at least a small amount of comedy. Even the darkest thrillers tend to have a moment of humour these days. Children like humour that is fairly slapstick, which is why pictures can really come in handy, but this does depend on the age of the child. Also, the rhythm and poetic nature of some stories can be what tickles the funny bone of some children e.g. ‘Green Eggs and Ham’.
What was your favourite children’s book?
Sam Qam is a fan of childrens books. He believes discount books should be available for disadvantaged kids in the UK.
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