In another class of mine, Children and the Media, we talked about how a child’s brain is developing the fastest between the ages of 0-2 more so than any other stage of development. We discussed how a child’s brain grows from interactions with the people in his or her environment, particularly mothers and fathers. Reading bedtime stories to young children is not only a bonding moment, but as Heath discusses in her article, it is a chance for children to learn skills that can be applied in later years. In an article I found online, the author discusses 12 benefits of bedtime storytelling.
The first claim the author makes directly relates to Heath’s reading. It states that bedtime stories develop a child’s language. By listening to parents read stories, children are hearing a variety of new words they might have never heard before thus expanding their vocabulary. Hearth talks about how in Maintown parents are continuously labeling the objects in the books and are repeating the words to instill it into the child’s brain. The second benefit mentioned in the article is that bedtime stories can help enhance listening and oral communication skills. It states that a good storyteller interacts with the listeners and asks them questions. Maintown also demonstrates this practice. Parents in the town constantly stop in the story and ask the child what different things in the story are, also known as seeking what-explanations. In the town of Trackton, on the other hand, parents are not as involved in tutoring their child and preparing them for school and do not engage in bedtime storytelling. By not practicing storytelling they are really putting their child at a disadvantage. The article stating benefits of storytelling goes on to say that bedtime stories help ignite interest in reading and writing, develop thinking and problem solving skills, and enhances creativity. I think that when I have a child I would want to do all that I could in order to enhance their learning and would follow the procedures practiced in Maintown. A child is most affected by the environment they grow up in, so I believe that a child would be more successful in school if they listened to bedtime stories and were encouraged to participate in answering questions about the topics they are reading about.
Chrissie Bock
I think that the connection to this article is spot on. The entire list connects to the article, but the one that stands out most to me is developing thinking skills. I think that this intrigues me because of how Heath addresses the capacity of children to critically think in school as they progress through their elementary education. Mainstream children were presented with questions in multiple forms; the what explanations and the scaffolding method. Children exposed to this type of knowledge prior to preschool were able to maintain knowledge and think in a certain way throughout their years after preschool, while children in the other towns had a much lower rate of succeeding. I think the connection you made between the list and the Heath article is a very clear way of displaying why Heath says this type of exposure is so important to early childhood development. I strongly agree with your statement; "a child would be more successful in school if they listened to bedtime stories..." - encouraging participation and the thinking process carries on in school aged children and helps establish a practice important in fostering learning. I don't think there is a better way to very clearly demonstrate Heath's argument then the list you provided.
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ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I completely agree. I really enjoyed reading the link you posted with the 12 benefits of reading to your children at night. I was a nanny all through high school and still babysit from time to time -- reading bedtime stories to the children I babysit has always been a routine that the parents encouraged but I never realized how important it is. It is actually really interesting because as I was reading through the "Maintown" practices of reading to their children and interacting with them, I realized that I did those exact same things when I would read to the children I babysat. The only explanation for this is that it is also what my parents did for me when I was growing up. I think that is pretty incredible that these traditions are created and can be so beneficial. I always saw reading bedtime stories as just another routine to putting the kids to bed, like brushing your teeth or putting on your pajamas, but it is very enlightening to realize that it is also something that will go on to have a long-term positive effect on their lives. I definitely plan on reading bedtime stories to my kids in the future, too!
ReplyDeleteThe "12 Benefits of Bedtime Stories list" is very accurate. It never hit me how important reading bedtime stories to young children really was until I read Heaths article. I was raised in a home just like the Maintown children, and just like Chrissie, I plan on raising my children with the same practices that the Maintown parents use. Reading and writing is a major skill that one needs to use from the day they enter kindergarden all the way to their jobs in the real world. I have come to realize that those who are skilled at writing have a leg up for their entire school career. Something so simple as reading to your child at a young age can make all the difference.
ReplyDeleteThe connection made between "12 Benefits of Bedtime Stories List" and the assigned article in class is great. The impact of reading your children bedtime stories is seen clearly in each article. I firmly believe that the information within the "12 Benefits of Bedtime Stories List" is accurate and great for future parents to know. The most information is absorbed during childhood because people are growing and learning everyday. Reading your child a bedtime story can be beneficial for that child in the future. Another routine activity that can give parents another way to help their children.
ReplyDeleteThe "12 Benefits of Bedtime Stories list" is a perfect connection to Heath's article. I definitely think Maintown kids could relate to this list because their parents were most likely the ones practing these 12 techniques in order to prepare their kids for school. They seem to work too based off of Heath's study findings. Who would have thought how important the way parents read stories to their children really was? I know I never really thought anything of it until after having this discussion in class the other day. Looking back, I'm glad my parents were similiar to those in Maintown and better prepared me for school by interacting with me while reading. Going forward, I'll be sure to do the same with my kids some day, because I would hate for them to have to struggle due to the lack of interaction and effort during storytime at night. It's not that hard of a task to take ten minutes out of your night in order to read your kid a story and make sure he/she understands what was read to them. It's unfortunate some kids start out at a disadvantage because their parents didn't follow this list of 12 strategies or didn't take the same approach as Maintown parents.
DeleteThe list of 12 benefits of bedtime storytelling was a great connection to the article we read in class. I always find it interesting when the classes I’m taking always seem to relate to each other in some weird way. For some reason, I know that my parents read to me at bedtime, but I don’t really remember. However, I completely agree that it benefits a child and their development in future years. Comparing each area in Heath’s article reinforced this notion and how each child’s upbringing produced certain habits and knowledge in their schooling years. I also never realized how important bedtime stories were in contributing to habits, emotions, values, and ideas. Emotional development stood out to me most on the list because the main character of the story could be “The Little Engine that Could” and I clearly remember the train’s troubles, yet it continued to remain determined. At the time, I’m sure I never really noticed how I was linking it to real life, but looking back I could see how it influenced me in my school environment.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this blog comment, especially when she's talking about the earliest stage of development. I had also read that during the first couple months is when children gain the most knowledge and develop the most, so looking at that we must recognize the importance of molding their minds at an early age. I liked this article alot because it divided the different forms of bed time stories/parenting into three distinct groups that could be depicted. i had never really thought of this in this way and it now makes more sense to me that some children are taught differently by their parents at a really young age and this can affect how they will grow up in the future. I think that reading bed time stories helps children to develop outside thoughts, it gets them thinking on something not concrete, something they have to imagine for themselves. I believe that I will read my children bed time stories when I have them because I think it is really important to help children develop a good imagination.
ReplyDeleteI think this blog post is a perfect connection to this reading. I think it is important to help your children hone their skills, even when they are young and still developing. The most crucial stage of learning happens very on in the child's life. I thought that these 12 Benefits were very closely linked to those kids in Maintown. These kids are taught early on the importance of education. I agree with this, that education is the key to a better life, therefore it's very important. I thought the most interesting benefits were developing thinking and problem solving skills... key for any age. I also disagree with one though. I think children learn moral values through their parents. You learn from those in your life and your life experiences more than listening to stories as you fall asleep... but maybe I'm wrong.
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