How can storytelling or bibliotherapy help children?
Storytelling allows children to learn about and gain different perspectives into their emotions and to learn more about their responses to situations. By encouraging a response to literature, children become engaged in thought provoking discussions.
Pardeck recognized this method as having six potential objectives
1. To offer information.
2. To provide insight into a specific experience or situation.
3. To provide alternative solutions to the problem.
4. To stimulate a discussion of what the actual problem is.
5. To communicate new values and attitudes with regard to the problem.
6. To help students understand that they are not the only one who has experienced this problem.
Positve results of bibliotherapy
Goleman found that there are six positive results from the use of bibliotherapy
1. Fewer incidents of physical violence in the classroom.
2. Less name-calling.
3. Smaller numbers of put-downs.
4. Better conflict-resolution strategies.
5. Improved sensitivity towards fellow students.
6. Augmented capability of listening to classmates
Bibliotherapy Resources
Books and stories like these will be develop an emotional
response to literature
Steps to make story time an opportunity to develop children's emotional intelligence and to enhance their response to literature.
1. Ask your child(ren) to review the book cover to predict what the book is about.
2. Read the book, reflecting and posing questions.
3. Focus the questions on how the characters may be feeling, what the situation is, how the characters are coping with the situation in the story that will help you achieve your target.
4. Ask your child(ren) to retell the story in their own words.
5. Discuss child(ren)'s own experiences.
6. Relate the discussion to the child(ren)'s current situation.
7. Let the child(ren) express solutions to the book characters stories.
8. Other activities such as drawing, journal writing or drama can be done afterwards.
Reading can help children develop empathy from an early age which is one reason why it's so important to
read to your children
from the time they're
babies
is also a great bonding experience, making children feel secure and loved, and is known to boost their IQ, as well as their EQ.
But all the electronic distractions around today mean that many kids don't read much these days. So how do you
encourage them to read?
The very best way is to read to them often when they're young starting when they're babies. As they get older and learn to read independently, take the time to find great books for them to read which match their interests and reading ability. For some great suggestions,
click here.
Developing your child's
self-awareness
and
self-reflection
skills can also be helped along with books and stories. Encouraging children to talk about emotions and develop their
emotional literacy
is an important step in a child's emotional development.
