The Importance of Story time for Kids

The Importance of Story time for Kids

Do you spend time reading with your little ones? Story time can transport you and your child to far-away, magical places. It can be a great source of bonding and fun, and it can also be crucial for your child’s learning and development.

Let’s take a look at the many benefits of story time and tips to help your little one gain a love for reading.

Builds Literacy Skills

Story time can help children develop crucial literacy skills such as alphabet skills, book-handling skills and expressive vocabulary skills.

As you’re reading to your child, trace your finger along the lines of the book to help them follow along and connect the words they’re seeing with the sounds they’re hearing. Pause at new or unusual words and enunciate them slowly. Ask your child to repeat certain words to help them learn and help their vocabulary grow.

Develops Empathy

Story time allows your child to experience the world through someone else’s viewpoint. As your child hears different stories, they have the opportunity to identify with different characters, and their empathy grows.

As you read a story to your child, take the time to pause and ask them how they think a certain character feels and why. This will help them further connect to the characters and understand how certain situations can impact their emotions. This will also help them start identifying more emotions in real life.

For a few ideas on what book to read next, check out our list of Children’s Books That Boost Kindness.

Promotes Active Listening

A dedicated story time where your child sits and listens can help improve their active listening skills. Make sure your child knows there will be a time for asking questions and participating, but that they should prioritize listening.

Be sure to emphasize the importance of listening respectfully when someone else is reading. This way, when you take your child to a story time at a library or bookstore, they’ll understand what they’re supposed to do.

Enhances the Imagination

Story time can help spark children’s imagination and even improve their creativity. As children listen to tales of adventure, their minds will start to wander and their imaginations will stay active long after a story is over. Children will often remember characters and places from the stories we tell them.

Help further build their creativity by engaging in a writing prompt or art project based on the story you just read. For example, practice drawing a character with crayons, molding a character out of clay or creating a writing prompt asking what your child would do if they could visit the location of the story for one day.

Story time at Libraries in Indiana:

Attend a story time session to support your local library and help your child meet new friends! Search your local library website or visit indypl.org to locate branches around Indianapolis.

More on the Importance of Story Time for Kids

Stories can teach more than words. Check out our blog on how books can build feeling skills in kids.