Turns Out... Reading to Kids Is like Kid Xanax Without Side Effects

A mother reads a children’s book to her child

 When I was 17, I worked as a daycare teacher for the four-year old’s class. There were 22 of them.  Between potty accidents, Suzy cutting her own hair with plastic scissors (like HOW right?!) and little James continuously putting mole crickets in my back pocket, well, I think I still have some PTSD from it.

However, at 2:00 each day those little monsters turned into little miracles of life because…it was story time. They sat still like little angels and their eyes were wide with excitement. They also chose the same book every day- The Rainbow Fish. It had sparkly fish on it, and they liked to recite the words with me. Same. Book. Every. Day.

Well-Traveled Positive Pathways Lead to Happier Dispositions

Reading to children puts them on the path to genius

Fast forward to a week ago. I had a mindfulness podcast on while I painted, and a self-help expert said that he listened to Mathew McConaughey’s Oscar speech every day for three months until it rewired his brain.

I had an epiphany. Kids like to be read the same book over and over because- whatever message that book is teaching them- their brain is storing that information and marking it as important. They feel comfortable with it and feel a part of something exciting.

We’ve all heard about the elasticity of the brain and how repetition, whether positive or negative, turns neural trails into highspeed highways. Like mantras. Like the guru and Mathew M.

Fascinatingly, reading to children does more than reinforce positive ideas, it does some amazing things to their emotional and psychological selves.

Here’s a quote from a New York Times article titled Reading Aloud to Young Children Has Benefits for Behavior and Attention:

A new study provides evidence of just how sustained an impact reading and playing with young children can have, shaping their social and emotional development in ways that go far beyond helping them learn language and early literacy skills. The parent-child-book moment even has the potential to help curb problem behaviors like aggression, hyperactivity and difficulty with attention, a new study has found.

Here's another one from The Washington Post:

We spoke with Liza Baker, the executive editorial director at Scholastic, which just released its Kids & Family Reading Report.  “It’s so important to start reading from Day One,” she says. “The sound of your voice, the lyrical quality of the younger [books] are poetic … It’s magical, even at 8 weeks old they focus momentarily, they’re closer to your heart.” As they begin to grow, families should make sure books are available everywhere in the home, like it’s your “daily bread.” According to this report “There’s been a drop in parents continuing to read aloud after age 5.”

A book is a powerful asset to a child’s happiness

Wow!

 I read those articles and I thought back to the cherished memories I have of my parents and friends reading to me. I remember the warm glow and how safe and loved I felt. I’m grateful that the adults in my life took the time to read to me. And now that I have written my own book, which teaches courage in a whimsy way, I hope that it can be a little bit of glue in the family bond and a sunny trail through a child’s neural network.

Wanna hear the story of my story? Check out reviews and all the details about my giraffe book here.