Reading together with your child supports communication

This post is written by teacher and panel member, Jennifer Murphy. For more information about the Lucy's Book Club panel members, please visit the Review Panel page.

Reading a book with your child can open up doors of communication, communication that is often difficult to make time for with the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  Carve some quality time out of your week for your child, especially with the stress that often comes with the end of the year, and read a book together from our current book list, Feeling strong on my own.  See what conversations come up between you and your child about how they feel on their own or apart from you.  You can show your interest in your child’s thoughts and feelings by pausing and asking them questions about the story and characters as you read.  For example, while reading Owl Babies, ask your child which owl he or she identifies with most. This might open up a conversation about being apart or missing you that may not have come up otherwise.

For more information about communicating with your child(ren), take a look at the article Building Strong Parent-Child Communication.

Nighttime separation

Separation at Nighttime

Not everyone thinks about nighttime being a time of separation for children. Even though you are all still together in the same house after bedtime, a “good night” to a child is a bit like a “good bye” until the morning (or until he or she seeks you out for comfort!). Being alone during the night is a particularly difficult task for many children, and feeling strong on your own (autonomous) during the night poses extra challenges. For our current topic on separation and autonomy, Feeling strong on my own, we have included a few books specifically about feeling more comfortable with saying good night.

For books related to nighttime, take a look at Kiss Good Night, Goodnight Me, and My Own Big Bed.

For questions or concerns about nighttime, take a look at the following articles on the Lucy Daniels Center’s main website:

Building mental muscles to overcome childhood anxieties

Helping children with monster fears

Taming nightmares