The Importance of Reading Non-Fiction Books to Kids

marni reading her personalised book from selfarama

Bedtime stories are one of the most magical times of day at our house. My little people are all warm, snuggly and calm after their bath. We bundle up together in bed and read or story (or three) to round out our day. As a busy mum, story time is wonderful because it’s a moment of peace in our hustle-bustle life…but as an author and psychologist I love story time for more than just its opportunity for connection and relationship building.

In the world of child development, stories are powerful and a well-recognised tool for learning. When we think story-time we evoke memories of fairy tales, make believe and even some fables with good moral learnings thrown in. Fiction often takes the spotlight in children's literature (often due to a grown-ups own reading preference or simply what is available). But did you know the unique place than non-fiction books hold in a child’s social and cognitive development?

Marni’s book of art history

Non-fiction books support child development

“Hold it!” I can hear you say “But non-fiction books are textbooks, facts about the world” and many people assume this equates to being “boring”. Also many grown-ups have a misconception about the reading preferences of their children, but did you know research has shown that very large proportions of children want to read non – fiction books? One study found that 40% students from grades 1 to 6 who were given a choice of books selected non-fiction. And this may be even more pronounced in younger children – with another study finding that a whopping 80% of 1st graders opted for non-fiction stories when given a choice.

So, in addition to being sought after by kids themselves why are non-fiction stories so important for our children’s development?

marni represented in the style of frida kahlo

The Role of Non-Fiction in Cognitive Development

Many children experience something called the “Fourth Grade Slump”, this is when their reading journey changes from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” and suddenly they go from creative stories that use images, characters, settings and plots to communicate a story. They are also use different types of language to engage readers as opposed to informational or non-fiction texts. A non-fiction book’s primary purpose is to convey factual information and it introduces children to the real world in ways that fiction cannot. If a child hasn’t been exposed to non-fiction stories before this shifting skill set can result in them struggling or being left behind in school (hence the nickname the “Fourth Grade Slump”).

Being able to navigate and absorb information in non-fiction books helps our little people with skills they will require in later education and improves their opportunities for academic achievement. In addition, this factual information about history, nature, science, different cultures and religions can also instil a sense of curiosity, a love of learning and helps our kids learn how to differentiate between fact and fiction – a critical skill in our modern world where they are inundated with information and must learn how to discern the truth!

marni loved seeing herself in this book - and i loved the opportunity for some sneaky learning!

Want your child to be the next Einstein, Marie Curie or Cathy Freeman?

In addition to the academic benefits, social learning theories (we learn through observing, modelling and imitating what we see) suggest that when children read non-fiction stories, they gain role models. They learn about real life people (inventors, adventurers, scientists, athletes etc) and can come to understand and personalise these stories which provides them with a model for behaviour or activities to copy!

A non-fiction story not only feeds your child’s brain, but they are simultaneously learning how to ask the right questions, find answers and solidify their knowledge, encourage independent learning and gives them wonderful role models to emulate…win win!

So how can you encourage your child to pick up a non-fiction book?

Let’s look at some ways you can promote reading of non-fiction stories in your household:

1.     Observation my dear Watson - Firstly, social learning theories mean that your child learns a lot from simply observing and imitating…so what kinds of books do you read? Let them see you reading a wide range of books.

2.     Encourage independent learning – if your child has a question, instead of simply answering it you can help develop their thirst for knowledge but also skills to wade through the “fiction” to find the “fact”. You can do this by getting them to ask the question and figure out topics or sub topics and then find some age-appropriate books on the subject for them to read.

3.     Diversity – give them a choice of books to select from at home and school. If a range of books are available then they have more of an opportunity to explore non-fiction in a no pressure way

4.     Make it relatable – if your child is into mermaids…great! Find them some non-fiction books on the ocean, or history of pirates. Your child loves space? Wonderful! Get them some books on planets, space travel or astronauts.

5.     Connect it to their real life – does your family celebrate certain traditions, or have they heard a friend talk about a certain religious holiday? That’s a perfect opportunity to do a little fact finding and explore a new subject.

the best way we can encourage reading - is to read with our kids often, but also to let them see us reading!

Personalise Children’s Stories

Did you know that children learn better when they can connect with content on a personal level. This is why fiction books can be so effective at teaching our children about morals, or social behaviours (sharing, emotional regulation and more). However, non-fiction stories (which were typically dry and dusty) have been having a bit of a “makeover” in recent times and have started incorporating some of these fiction strategies for engaging kids. Often called “narrative non-fiction”, these books outline real people and real events, which provides a chance for your child to connect and relate to, and therefore see themselves in these stories in a more meaningful way.

But what if your child could actually “be” in a non-fiction story?

I was recently gifted a delightful book from Tom at Selfarama which used AI to incorporate a photo of my 7-year-old daughter Marni into the pages of an art history non-fiction book. When the post arrived (addressed to Marni herself no less – and what kid doesn’t love post?) she was so shocked to see herself on the front cover. Now any parent I know loves a few moments of peace…and that’s what I got for at least 1 hour after she opened her book. First the ego-centric part of her made her scour the book for a lengthy amount of time while she admired herself (yes my darling, that is you on every page). But then, without any prompting she scuttled off and grabbed her watercolours and painted herself in one of the blank pages (specifically left to encourage our little people to get creative). She then came and told me all about her painting, and I asked which art style she had used to inspire her…she flicked through the book and showed me the hyper-realism of Lucian Freud and shared that she had even chosen her colours to look most like his paintings. She was curious about why there was a dog in the picture and so we did some investigating and found out that he often painted dogs, and sometimes cats into his works.

The book was such a great introductory non-fiction text. Not only could Marni directly connect herself to the information, but it prompted independent learning…the whole point, and benefit of non-fiction stories. Now my only question is…what’s up next for Selfarama and when can I get me hands on it? Its certainly ignited a love of non-fiction in our household that I'm keen to promote!

I’d love to know your favourite non-fiction stories you read with your tiny human? Or, has this given you a nudge to add some non-fiction to your “to be read” pile?

the personalised art work is standout! marni loved seeing herself in this book

References

Doiron, R. (2003). Boy books, girls, books: Should we re-organize our school library collections? Teacher Librarian, 30, 14-17.

Mohr, K. A. J. (2006). Children’s Choices for Recreational Reading: A Three-Part Investigation of Selection Preferences, Rationales, and Processes. Journal of Literacy Research, 38(1), 81-104. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15548430jlr3801_4

The use of nonfiction with early childhood aged children (uni.edu)

marni got the paints out for her very own masterpiece soon after reading her book

Which words could you ban to improve mental health?

Hi everyone and welcome!!!

For me, words are my livelihood… I listen to my clients words, looking for meaning. I craft my own responses using my professional knowledge, my memories of the client and their history and my response to their particular comment/disclosure. We sometimes forget about the power of language as our selection of words can seem almost automatic.

As human beings we love to develop routines, patterns and we feel secure when we know what a response/reaction will be to any particular action. We develop lovely things called “Schemas” which are basically templates that help us quickly interpret things (ahh yes, I can see a red light coming up, red means stop). We develop these automatic thoughts and responses to things in order to create shortcuts so we don’t have to use a lot of brain power thinking about things.

But what if the words your brain “automatically” selected were undermining and disempowering you. How very rude!!! But very common. Not only do we develop schemas about things in our world, but we also develop them about ourselves. Now this isn’t the only type of negative, automatic thought pattern that people develop (stay tuned to this blog for more info) but the one we are exploring today.

So let’s get to the words I propose we could ban to improve mental health…

…

Should

Must

Ought

…

Were they the words you were expecting?

Ok, so let’s get to the nitty gritty… why are “should”, “must” and “ought” such terrible words? Well, thinking in such absolutes is called “demand thinking” and simply put, these words place unrealistic and inflexible expectations and demands on yourself and others. By using these words you are using a strict set of rules from which you judge events and the actions of yourself and others. They tend to coincide with schemas/rules/expectations about:

• How I am (meaning you)

• How you are (meaning other)

• How the world is

So let’s give an example of how demand thinking might affect our own wellbeing.

“I must work harder”…although on the surface this seems pleasant enough and seems to be encouraging a good work ethic, it is too inflexible and judgmental. It sets you up to feel as though you know what you “must” be doing, but that you aren’t already doing this behaviour (for whatever reason)…. cue negative thoughts about yourself and a potential dip in self-esteem, confidence and self belief. Usually this negativity arises when we aren’t meeting our own schema surrounding what we expect from ourselves as a person (hard working, kind, empathic, honest etc).

If you catch yourself saying “should”, “must” or “ought” try to counterbalance with much more flexible, forgiving and optimistic words like: could, can, might, would, want, will etc.

Give it a go! Try and think of some demand thinking you are prone to and writing out some alternative thoughts instead. Anytime you catch yourself using a should, must or ought phrase try and replace it with this new, alternative message and see if you can detect the difference in your feelings about yourself, others and the world at large.

Until next time!!!

Rachel

Why self-care doesn’t just mean getting a massage!

Welcome!

I have a couple of soap box topics… I get a little ranty, possibly forget about the usual social convention of “turn taking” in conversations and just generally get all worked up when I talk about these topics! Self care is one of them.

Although I feel positive that the culture is shifting and as a society we are talking more about the importance of self care… I think sometimes the conversations add pressure and unrealistic expectations around what self care is and how to do it. There seems to be a lot of messages equating self care to pampering (buy yourself something nice, get a massage etc) or that somehow self care means you need to spend a lot of time or money on looking after yourself. UNTRUE!!! (Sorry… but I did warn you about the ranting)

One of my favourite sayings in my professional and personal life is “you can’t pour from an empty cup”. In essence self care is anything that fills up your cup. This is deeply individual and personal… what floats your boat might not float mine. It’s really important to figure out what works for you… and having a whole range of ideas… because not all feelings or situations call for the same solution. And if you figure out what works for you (and what doesn’t) it leaves you with a sense of confidence that you can manage your own feelings… which might even help reduce the negative stuff underpinning your need to engage in self care.

So here are some of my top tips (and ones that aren’t going to cost you anything) that I share in counselling and supervision;

• Self care isn’t always about adding in a new activity. It can also be about knowing when to decline an invitation, reducing your full schedule or just saying “no”.

• Try and find a variety of self care strategies that take different lengths of time (i.e 5 mins, 15 mins, 30 mins, 1 hour, half a day etc). That way you can fit the self care into your schedule and not feel time pressured  (because that’s not the point of self care!)

• Think about fulfilling your senses (taste, touch, smell, sound and sight). Make up and fill a self care box that meets all of those needs… some ideas might include; a picture of your favourite holiday (sight), a stressball (touch), a CD with your favourite music/band (sound… but on a serious note! does anyone actually use CDs anymore?), a candle (smell) and a bar of chocolate (taste). You can find stuff you already have in the house… no need to go out and spend $$$ (unless of course that is what fills your cup).

• Move your body!!! Sometimes just physically moving can change your perspective (literally and figuratively ha!).

• Do something repetitive… like colouring in, knitting, bouncing a ball to a rhythm, drumming etc. The repetitive nature of these tasks can be self soothing as there is a pattern or rhythm that our brains quite enjoy!

• Mentally planning a holiday or activity… you don’t need to spend any money! Just some good old googling (research) and anticipation about an upcoming event can leave you in a positive frame of mind.

• I love a good list and ticking stuff off it. It has the dual benefit of reducing your mental load (not having to keep all those ideas/thoughts/reminders in your head) and it can also reduce stress and reduce confidence (when you feel like you have managed a situation or completed a fast it installs you with positive feelings about your own self worth).

So there you go! A couple of ideas to think about… but be aware that they might not work for you and that’s ok. You need to figure out what you need out of self care! So go forth… get moving, planning or just saying no!