Shared Reading

In today’s day and age, it’s difficult to slow down the pace and take a moment to be present in our children’s lives. Between meal preparation, naps, housework and work, we often forget an important role that we play as parents, to teach our kids the importance of quality time.

Now, we aren’t talking about going for a walk or watching TV with your child, we are speaking about the incredibly special calm time that is shared between parent and child during a Shared Reading session. There’s something about this sacred time that builds in a part of our day that we struggle to find elsewhere in our lives. How often do you sit with your child on your lap without a phone, a TV or an interruption from life to simply be present? Discussing important life related topics like emotions? Even if it’s just for a second; this is invaluable time that both you and your children will cherish forever.

Now we know that it feels good to spend this time with our kids but what does the science say to back Shared Reading up?

What is Shared Reading?

The Mikhulu Trust describes Book Sharing as a dialogue form of interaction between caregiver and child using picture books. It is not the traditional form of reading where the caregiver reads while the child listens but rather a dialogue between the two using a picture book. It is a child-led exchange, supported by the adult giving focus to the interests and communications of the child.

5 Reason’s why Shared Reading is important:

1. Socio-emotional Improvement: Children with socio-emotional issues such as anxiety, Perfectionism, Stress issues related to peer relationships and Identity based issues communicate better with their caregivers post Book Sharing. In a study of 61 mother-child pairs, the conversation during and after book sharing was recorded. The outcome was found that after the book sharing interaction, the conversation went further than what was written in the book and socio-emotional issues were spoken about. It was also found that these conversations between mother and child post Book Sharing interaction promoted social understanding for the child where they were found to exceed their vocabulary level during these conversations!
2. Cognitive and Social Development: The Mikhulu Trust explains that book-sharing provides stimulation for the child’s cognitive development as well as social development, teaching children to understand and get along with others better. It allows children the space to explore speaking about topics that do not usually arise during a normal reading session such as emotions, social issues and prejudice.
3. Language Skills Improvement: Book sharing has been found to improve children’s language skills where questions are targeted using literal and inferential questions. During a study of pre-schooled children struggling with language impairments, inferential and literal questions were used during Book Sharing. It was found that the preschoolers improved on language skills at the end of the study, providing evidence that they were more confident to answer open ended and closed questions.
4. Increased Conversation and Sensitivity to child: A South African study where 17 mothers received book sharing training and 13 did not receive training resulted in the mothers who received training showing improved elaboration during reading time. They were found to elaborate more  with their infants during book sharing time. It was also found that the mothers who received book sharing training became more sensitive to their infants but what was interesting was that the sensitivity went further than only Book Sharing time and was evident while infants were playing with toys too!
5. Imagination Development: Childhood brain development specialist, Dr. Stephanie Carlson explains that children spend as much as two-thirds of their life in an imaginary state of mind ( Reading Eggs). If we want to speak ‘child’, we need to understand life from their perspective. Creating a Book Sharing experience with your child, allows them the opportunity to continue living and communicating in this imaginative state ( their language) and do so with you. They will feel understood by you and you will in return, understand them.

To watch a video example of Book Sharing and find more information, follow the link below

https://www.mikhulutrust.org/booksharing

*Contact jessica@carrotkidz.com for references
*Thanks to Aaron Burden for sharing their work on Unsplash.