School run, work, cooking and cleaning oh and trying to do homework with your children, yes it’s stressful and busy to be a parent. But no matter what, you have to make some time for story time! Why you might be thinking?
Well I have listed the top 5 reasons why it’s so important for you to regularly set aside time for storytelling with your kids and how Little Hibba’s books can help you along your children’s reading journey.
- Reason #1: Improves Literacy Skills and Vocabulary
Everything, and I mean everything we do in life includes reading. So it’s the number 1 skill you would want your child to develop at the earliest and encourage it to be the strongest skill set that they have. Reading and sharing stories can help your child to understand sounds, words and language, and develop early literacy skills. At Little Hibba we also incorporate Islamic words and terminology so that your child can learn from a young age how to pronounce and familiarise themselves with different words. We also have a brand new book called ‘Animal Adventure Book’ that includes Arabic text, which will encourage your child to learn a new language and in turn it will help them with their Holy Quran literacy.
- Reason #2: Parent Child Bonding
One of the key benefits of story time is parent child bonding. It can be extremely difficult to set aside dedicated time just to focus on your child, that’s why reading to your child is crucial in providing an activity that both of you can enjoy together. Story time is quality time, it would be extremely difficult to vacuum or scroll through social media whilst reading. That’s why many children and parents alike find storytelling the perfect activity to enhance their bonding as it’s usually uninterrupted.
- Reason #3: Imagination and Creativity
Reading books is a perfect way to let your imagination run wild. Little Hibba has books on different wonders of Allah SWT such as animals and rainbows and discusses different careers like being a fire fighter or astronaut. And since Little Hibba’s books are personalised it allows the child to visualise themselves within the story which can enhance your child’s creativity and make them open to new ideas. And fast forward to the future, creative jobs are in high demand to join the workforce so it’s an important skill set that you would want to nurture.
- Reason #4: Time Away from Technology
In a highly digital world, where we have even had to succumb to online schooling, books are one of the few things that are keeping children away from fast paced technology. According to Western Governors University ‘depression is a key issue that is correlated with more media use. This has increased suicide rates and has led to more youth needing mental health interventions like medicine and counselling.’ So time out with story time allows a tech free environment, where there are no quick moving scenes or adverts that encourage your children to follow a craze but a good old fashioned book where you turn the pages at your own pace!
- Reason #5: Empowerment and Social Skills
Through storytelling of Little Hibba’s books, children learn good etiquette and social skills as they teach the child how to pay attention and listen actively to the person talking. Storytelling encourages the child to be more patient as they listen to others read. More importantly storytelling opens the child’s eyes to other people’s thoughts and understanding. For example if your child usually says ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘it’s too hard’ our book You Could Be Anything shows the child a different view point on how they have unlimited possibilities and empowers them.
