CreativePlay Plus: Ideas in Play and Child Development

Dr. Kessler offered a number of helpful ideas for parents to consider when picking out children’s books for young children ages 2 to 4:

• Consider vocabulary—It’s also important to look at the language used in the book. Children crave learning and understanding new words and ideas. Books that can expose children to new words can help expand their vocabulary and keep them interested in reading.
• Check out the illustrations—In addition to vocabulary, illustrations are also very important. Parents can use the pictures in books to help expand ideas in the story and promote understanding. Parents can also help children focus on the story by asking questions about the illustrations like, “what do you see”?
• Any lessons learned? Books that compare ideas are often interesting to young children and teach important lessons. Look for books that introduce simple concepts like how things grow and that compare and contrast ideas like big-little or brave-scared. Books that describe and compare ideas are also presenting new information to children which make them very popular among young, curious thinkers.
• Is it interesting? Finally, it is important to look at the content and see if it matches your child’s interests. As a parent, flip through the book and see how you can expand the reading experience for your child.

Children love repetition and often they want to read the same books over and over again. If children want to read the same book night after night, let them!  Dr. Kessler stresses that parents or caregivers should not feel pressured to move kids quickly on to something new. Reading the same books each night may be interesting to them and also may be comforting for them. When children re-read familiar books, they may feel good about being able to more easily follow along and anticipate how the story will go. Parents can encourage children to read a variety of books, however, it’s important not to push them too quickly. Be patient, kids will move on to new books when they are ready.

When reading to infants and toddlers do you find yourself describing the pictures your child points to? If so, that’s great! Dr. Kessler, emphasized when reading to young children, it is important to spend time looking carefully at the pictures and describing what you see. This helps infants and young children to connect the pictures with the words they hear and helps them piece together the story. Additionally, this action helps children pay attention to details that are not only contained in what you’re saying, but what they are looking at.

Continuing our conversation with Dr. Kessler, she suggests reading for about twenty-minutes. This, she says, will help to establish a routine that children can anticipate and look forward too. For example, many children look forward to reading a book before bed. Reading can become a soothing activity to help comfort and calm children so they can more easily fall asleep. Also, offering books to your child during activities they may not enjoy, like when eating out at a restaurant or reading to them during bath time, may serve as a great distraction!

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Jane Kessler, a child psychologist and professor emeritus at Case Western Reserve University. Since retiring, Dr. Kessler has owned and operated Appletree Bookstore in Cleveland Heights, Ohio and along the way has become an expert in children’s books. Over the next few weeks we would like to share with you Dr. Kessler’s recommendations to enhance your child’s reading experience from infancy through eight-years-of-age.

Reading with your child is an invaluable experience for both of you! Dr. Kessler, stressed the importance of reading out loud to children from infancy through at least 8 years of age. As children get older and begin to read more on their own, it is still okay to continue setting a special time to read with your child. For infants and toddlers, parents can help bring alive the pictures on the page by describing the pictures and elaborating on the story. As children grow older, they learn to use context clues like pictures to help them learn to read and make meaning from the story. Parents can also help make reading “real” by connecting the experiences in the book to their child’s life. This shared activity is a great way to help children develop their comprehension skills. Additionally, setting a special time to read each day signals to children that their parents find reading an important activity and skill to develop.