What to do with this activity?
Some children are more anxious and fearful than others. Children with active imaginations sometimes find it difficult to tell the difference between real and pretend. They imagine monsters, or things under their bed when the light goes out, or have scary dreams. How can you help them overcome these fears?
The most important thing is to listen to what your child tells you and treat it seriously. Knowing you are there for them will ease their fears. Perhaps a worry about something happening in their life is taking the shape of a scary monster. Let them talk to you about any worries they have. If your child is worried about real things, talk it through with them.
Here's a bedtime video story that might resonate with your fearful child. Watch Harry and the Monster together.
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Why am I doing this?
Reading aloud combines the benefits of talking, listening and storytelling within a single activity and helps to build the foundation for language development. From stories your child learns many things such as how to listen and concentrate, new words and understand why things happen. They also learn to put ideas in order, develop their memory skills, notice how spoken words relate to words on the page and learn how to predict. Reading gives your child a chance to develop their own opinions, build visual skills and learn how to handle books.
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How can I do more?
If you can spare 10 minutes a day to read with your child you can make a huge difference to their development. You don’t have to read a book, you could read a comic, magazine article or a story you have made up yourself. The most important thing is that you enjoy it, that way your child will too.
Remember a good storybook is one that you the reader and your child find interesting. It might be funny or entertaining. Ask yourself whether your child would enjoy it and be able to listen to it. Are the pictures well drawn? Is it well written? Do you like it? You may be the one reading it, over and over, and over!
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