Who among us hasn't grown up with them? Children's books tell us stories at a young age that we still remember later in life. Have you, for example, ever read Donald Duck, Alice In Wonderland, or Matilda? Today is the International Day of the Children's Book, and that's why you're reading in this blog why reading children's books is important for the development of your child.
Children's books develop language skills
Without language, we cannot communicate with each other. In all aspects of life, your child encounters language skills; while playing with friends, learning at school, and expressing emotions. The right words help us tackle many different situations. Children's books ensure, in a fun way, that your child comes into contact with language.
Understanding and expressing emotions
Understanding our emotions and how they come about is a big challenge for your little one. Did you know that children's books are a fantastic tool to help your little one with this? The characters in children's books experience all sorts of things, and those events trigger emotions that are also recognizable to us as humans. Think, for example, of the emotion joy. That emotion is expressed in words by the author. By reading regularly, your child learns to connect words with emotions. That helps them to deal with them.
Empathy and understanding for the characters in the story
Children's book authors have the ability to make characters in the story seem like people, you might almost think they're real. By introducing challenges and obstacles in the story, children read about the highs and lows the heroes in the story face. Your little one may have understanding for the character's situation and empathize with the events. That promotes your child's empathic ability, enabling them to better understand the real-life situations of other people.
Children's books make your child more creative
You can bet that writers come up with creative solutions that ultimately lead the heroes in their stories to a happy ending. Imagine a knight has discovered a unique way to save the princess from the dragon, or imagine how Suske and Wiske overcome every adventure. Children's books are full of wise life lessons and creative solutions to many of our daily challenges. Who knows, maybe your little one will come up with a new idea later in life because they read about it in children's books.
