AD| The Importance of Reading with your Children Plus Win a Goody Bag!

Disclaimer: In association with Book Trust

@BookTrust will be running a Twitter party on Thursday 19th September from 8-9pm where you’ll have the chance to win book tokens. They’ll also be joined by developments psychologist, Emma Kenny, who will be answering questions on the night as part of the Twitter Party, along with me @Twinmumanddad and @rockbabyworld. Be sure to join in using the hashtag #TimetoRead

As a mum there’s nothing in life I want more than for my children to lead happy and healthy lives. I talk openly to my children about different subjects and encourage them to do the same. It’s so important to have open channels of communication.

One of the biggest worries I have is that my children may struggle in silence. For many parents this is a reality they wish they didn’t have to face. Opening up conversations about mental health and any problems your children may have is so important.

Shocking new research from BookTrust shows that half of children* don’t discuss their mental health and wellbeing with their parents. The research also brought to light that reading together can help children share their worries.

There are so many benefits of reading. It can improve vocabulary and language skills, teaches children about the world around them, helps children to develop empathy, plus it’s fun!

BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. They gift over 700,000 books to reception-age children across England.

Their research found that just over half of children (51%) aged between 8-11 actually speak with their parents when they are feeling stressed, sad or worried and a staggering 44% say that they forget about the problem or don’t say anything and deal with it themselves.

The thought of my children not feeling able to talk to me about their problems is actually quite upsetting. This research highlights the importance of reading for children’s mental health and comes as the charity is set to give out over 700,000 free copies of Rob Hodgson’s laugh-out-loud picture book ‘The Cave’ to every school starter in England as part of its annual Time to Read campaign. 

Children nowadays have so much more to contend with than when I was growing up. In addition to pressures from society about the way they’re expected to look, there’s also social media and cyber bullying.

The research also found that children aged 8-11 who feel worried, sad or angry, say that the most common reasons they feel this way are:

• Friendship problems (46%)
• School work (43%)
• Loneliness (25%)

In addition parents of children aged 4-11 say the most common signs of children being worried or anxious are:

• Angry outbursts at home (42%)
• Crying more than usual (36%)
• Sleeping problems (28%)

Much like adults children need downtime. The research mentioned above showed that the top way children aged 8-11 choose to relax is by doing screen based activities (eg.TV and video games) (65 per cent) however reading on their own (38 per cent) and reading with a parent/carer (27 per cent) are considerably less popular.

This saddens me so much. I absolutely loved to read when I was a child and to this day reading is something I do on a daily basis. I’ve always got a book on the go. My favourite books to read was the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. Thankfully, my children enjoy reading as much as I do and I like to think that’s because they see me reading.

One of my daughters favourite authors is Holly Webb, and my other daughter loves Rainbow Magic books.

Nearly a third (31%) of children aged 8-11 said their favourite thing about being read to is spending time with their parent/carer. 

In addition, 9 in 10 of parents (90 per cent) aged 4-11 do agree that reading together is a useful tool to help open up conversations with their child, however almost 70 per cent stopped reading to their children by the time they started at Key Stage 2 (7 years old).

My children are seven years old and we always read together. Whether it’s their school reading books, library books or me reading them a bedtime story. Reading really is an important part of our days and that’s because we enjoy reading together for so many reasons.

It’s a chance to unwind, cuddle up next to one another and immerse ourselves in a world of fairies, facts and animals. It also gives my children the opportunity to ask questions about the themes and topics in the books we read.

One of my own personal favourite books to read is called ‘The Last Laugh’ by Tracy Bloom.

It tells the story of a lady called Jenny who discovers that she a tumour in her cervix. As if that wasn’t bed enough there were signs that it had also spread to her bowel. Her doctor suggests that her best option was chemotherapy. He’s very open with Jenny and says that chemotherapy is likely to prolong her life, but it was unlikely to get rid of the tumours.

One of the reasons why this is my favourite book is because of how Jenny deals with this news and the way in which she lives her life. I really felt for Jenny and at times I was willing her to open up to those close to her about everything she goes through. I think of one the reasons why I felt so emotional when reading this book is because I lost my own mum to ovarian cancer when she was 50 years old. My twin sister and I were 18 at the time.

Now that I’m a mum it’s so important to me that my children know who my mum is and what she looked like etc.

The Last Laugh by Tracey Bloom helped me to connect with my children about my own struggles in loosing my mum, and in turn that book enabled me to turn it into a positive.

My twin girls and I decided to create a memory book of my mum, their Nanna, and although they never had the chance to meet her, I feel as though they have.

They talk of her as though she’s in the same room as us at times, and it’s such a beautiful thing to hear my girls calling my mum ‘Nanny Pam’. I only wish she were here to hear those words herself.

To make our memory book we printed off pictures of my mum, their Nanna and stuck them into a scrapbook. Alongside the pictures we wrote down facts about my mum such as her name and date of birth.

We also left a space so that I could write down my own memories and funny stories from my childhood with mum.

My favourite part though was letting my children write down what they think their Nanna would have liked to do with them. The girls wrote down things like playing hide and seek, cuddling on the sofa, drawing pictures together and going to the park together.

Creating our memory book also opened up a discussion with my children about death. They understand that my mum had cancer, and we were able to talk about death in a sensitive, age appropriate way that they would understand. It’s such an important subject to talk about and this activity helped us to talk openly about it.

Reading is often such a good way to help you evaluate how to deal with your own issues. Reading to yourself, to your children and letting them read to you is so important.

The research, backed by Psychologist Emma Kenny and Place2Be, the leading national children’s mental health charity shows how important it is to create opportunities for parents and carers to start conversations with children about the challenges they might be facing. Reading together enables children to discuss difficult situations and issues in a non-confrontational way, whilst also creating moments away from the distractions of every-day life. 

Emma Kenny, This Morning’s resident psychologist says: “Reading is a great activity to help you bond with your child and talk about their day. It also helps to create good routines, which make children feel safer and more confident. Add to that the way books can let children explore challenging themes and situations in a safe way, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for building resilience and ensuring that children feel able to talk about the things that are worrying and upsetting them.”

Diana Gerald, BookTrust CEO comments: “Sharing a book is about so much more than simply reading a story together. It creates a wonderful closeness, and it’s also an opportunity to talk about the themes in the book, whether that’s separation anxiety, making friends, losing someone important or simply learning to be brave. It’s so easy to stop the bedtime story or other shared reading once children can read for themselves, but that magical ten minutes doesn’t just help engage children in stories and reading; it also relaxes them, helps them understand the world around them, and often stimulates important conversations about what’s going on in their lives. Our research shows that children love to be read with, and we hope that The Cave will prove hugely popular with families across the country.” 

Catherine Roche, CEO of leading children’s health charity Place2Be, said: “Three children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health problem. Half of all mental health problems are established by the age of 14 which is why early identification and intervention to address these problems is important.  We know from our experience that reading with your child can be an excellent way to open up conversations about emotions, feelings and behaviours and help children to feel less alone. 

As a parent it can sometimes be hard to have these conversations but using characters in books, and the situations they experience, can help start a dialogue. Reading together can help you spot worries and anxieties before they are magnified.”

Win a Goody Bag!

For your chance to win the goody bag pictured above, simply enter via the rafflecopter below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions

Competition starts at 12am on 17/09/19 and ends 12am on 01/10/19

UK entrants only

Invalid/incomplete entries will be voided

Winner chosen at random via rafflecopter

There will be one winner

Prize is one goody bag (pictured above) – No alternatives will be offered

The winner will be announced within seven days of the competition closing

The blog owner is not responsible for non-delivery of prize

Research

*The research was conducted by Censuswide, with 3,000 parents of children aged between 4-11 and 1000 children between the ages of 8-11 via their parents. The survey was conducted from a random sample of UK residents. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles

About BookTrust

BookTrust is dedicated to getting children reading because we know that children who read are happier, healthier, more empathetic and more creative. Their early language development is supported and they also do better at school. 

We are the UK’s largest children’s reading charity; each year we reach 3.9 million children across the UK with books, resources and support to help develop a love of reading, because we know that reading can transform lives.

We work with a variety of partners to get children excited about books, rhymes and stories, because if reading is fun, children will want to do it. Our books are delivered via health, library, schools and early years practitioners, and are supported with guidance, advice and resources to encourage the reading habit.

About Time to Read

The Time to Read campaign launched in September 2016, encouraging parents and carers of primary school aged children to keep reading with their children – even once they’ve learned to read themselves. 

The campaign is currently in its fourth year. Every reception aged child in England will start receiving The Cave at school from September. The book is delivered inside a special Time to Read pack that each child gets to keep and take home. Inside each pack is a message for families about the importance of shared reading, alongside practical tips and advice to help them bring the story to life at home.

About Place2Be

Place2Be is the leading UK children’s mental health charity. We provide in-school support and expert training across England, Scotland and Wales to improve the emotional wellbeing of pupils, families, teachers and staff. 

We believe children should not have to face mental health problems alone. Place2Be’s vision is for all children to have the vital support they need to help them build life-long coping skills and to thrive. 

Three children in every classroom have a diagnosable mental health problem. Half of all mental health problems are established by the age of 14. This is why early intervention is important.

Place2Be is a pioneer in this field and is working to meet this increasing demand for mental health support services.  Founded in 1994, Place2Be has grown from supporting a handful of schools, to working with over 700 schools each year to help them become more ‘mentally healthy’.

To find out more visit: place2be.org.uk