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We all know that reading with your children is crucial for their cognitive (and behavioral) development. But the reading experience is just as valuable for the parent as it is for the child.
Reading child-friendly content not only helps kids' minds learn important life lessons and morals, but it also helps adult minds stay connected to those lessons and morals. No matter how old you are, basic lessons about honesty, kindness, and courage are still applicable.
And even more, reading child-friendly content with your children can boost your imagination and help you connect/reconnect with your creative side. A testimonial from a mother who had a transformative reading experience with her children:
"I used to love writing fiction as a child. Yet, I told my adult self that I was not a writer. It was a childhood dream of mine to illustrate a book and I believed someday I might do that - but write one? That was too far fetched.
After having two children, though, I began to constantly dream up different children’s story ideas after reading so many to them. One idea kept resurfacing and seemed to work particularly well with the dozens of animal paintings I had created over the last decade - to create an ABC book. I began to realize that my background in education, my love for art, and my ability to be creative with words (even if they often have typos), could all be merged together to write an alphabetical affirmation book.
I self-published my first book, “Animals, ABCs and Me” this past December and I feel happy that all these past titles, degrees, and hats that I have worn can finally be put to use in the form of this book. I hope that in sharing my story of pursuing my dreams after pivoting a bit, I can help others to realize that they can do the same." (Jessica Buhman, author of Animals, ABCs, and Me!)
And here is a testimonial from an author who co-wrote a book with her own grandchildren:
"The last 3 1/2 years, I faced my mortality, several times from multiple life-threatening infections. By God’s grace, I lived through it and I am healing well. Right after [my grandchildren and I] wrote the story, I had more rounds of Covid, one very severe, I also had five friends die within a month and a half. it was such a traumatic season and even with all my tools and support life got very painful and I started to lose hope.
Writing the story, and working with the illustrator, brought such joy and me to see beyond the circumstances I was experiencing. It gave me a spaciousness and creative outlet to experience joy in the middle of so much loss and uncertainty.
And then saw God’s power manifest in such a huge way as the book came out it had the best seller list in England, and in the United States for children’s inspirational literature. I never marketed except sharing it on my Facebook page.
I connected deeply with the meaning and purpose in my life. Even though my body needed so much rest and care while I was healing I still could impact lives for good." (Debbie Milam, author of Invasion of the Thought Gremlins)
Never underestimate the power of reading (or writing) a children's book!
My Virtual Physician is now offering pediatric behavioral health services. If you are concerned about your child's mental health needs, please book appointment with our pediatric cognitive-behavioral coach, Dr. Dalson: BOOK HERE
