By Carol Van Pampus
How many moms have you heard say this: “My kids hate stories”? Maybe a lot of them, maybe just a few. In general, my answer is the same: Your kids don’t hate stories; they just might not be enjoying the stories they’re reading right now.
Basically, this issue (“My kids hate stories”) can affect children ages 0–7 for simple reasons such as:
- You don't let them choose the story they're going to read
- Reading time feels like a "chore" rather than something you do for fun. This might even be a reflection of your own beliefs or your own mental script, but that's a topic for another post.
- They have few illustrations and very long texts.
- The texts don't rhyme, and reading them becomes tedious.
- They want to scratch them , explore them with their mouths, or play with them, and that makes us nervous.
But there’s one main reason why your child might not connect with you when you read a story together. Again, it has nothing to do with “My kids hate stories.” It has more to do with the fact thatthe story you’re reading isn’t age-appropriate.
Children aged 0–2
For example, for children aged 0–2, the story should have as little text as possible. The illustrations should be easy to understand (with light backgrounds and solid colors). The text should be in all capital letters. The story should be very simple (it can depict at most one emotion), since their attention span is very short.
Children ages 3–5
For children aged 3–5, illustrations can be more detailed. The text can be as long as a paragraph. If the text rhymes, reading becomes much more fun, as it sounds like a song. Use capital letters, since they are still learning to recognize letters. The stories tend to be longer. You can introduce the four basic emotions: anger, fear, sadness, and joy.
Children ages 5–7
For children ages 5–7, if they are already beginning to read, the illustrations tend to take a back seat. The text may use lowercase letters. The words don’t necessarily have to rhyme. The stories become more complex. The emotional range may expand, and in addition to the four basic emotions (anger, fear, sadness, and joy), others may be included: surprised, happy, disgust, and astonishment, among others.
If you want to spend more moments filled with stories that connect, strengthening your children’s emotional intelligence, follow me on Instagram @carolvanpampus or subscribe to my blog: www.carolvanpampus.com. Whichever you choose, you’ll be part of my community of Storytellers.
See you there!
Carol Van Pampus, a Venezuelan writer who moved to the United States in 2012, also works as an export manager.