Getting the Most Out of Story Time with Your Kids

You've gone to the library with your children, carefully picked out an assortment of eye-catching and intriguing books and you are now curled up together, ready to dig in. Reading with your children can be a magical time. You can venture into a new world, explore far away places and learn about new ideas all from the comfort of your own couch. The quality time spent together is valuable as well. It communicates the importance of your relationship with your children and provides you with mutual experiences that can help create the glue of a healthy family.

But that is not all. Reading with your children can also provide you with opportunities to instill, reflect and discuss your family's values. From a simple children's story, you can explore what your family believes and sneak a peek into the mind and emerging values of your little ones. Here are some ideas to help you use story time as value-building time.

Read. The first time through, read the story as the author intended it, with little or no commentary. Enjoy the story with your children. Laugh, look and explore the pages. Let your children take the lead. Get a library card and use it often. Carve out a portion of every day for reading together. You will be glad that you did.

Contemplate. While reading the story, be thinking about how the actions, thoughts or intentions of the characters support or contradict your family's values. Make some mental notes on particular pages and some questions that you may have for your child in the future.

Inquire. During subsequent story times, pause on the pages you were considering the day before. You can ask questions like, "Do you remember what is going to happen next?" or "Why do you think he did that?" "What do you think he was feeling?" These questions will help you get a better reading on your child's level on comprehension for the text and if you make it a practice, it will teach them to develop the important skill of critical thinking. It will also help send the message that story time can be interactive, not just passive on their part.

Build values. This is where you get to make an impact. As you encounter various scenarios in the stories, stop and investigate with your children. Ask them what they would have done in a similar situation. Ask if they think the character made a good or bad decision. Ask what the character could have done instead. Share with them what values you see exemplified or lacking in that portion of the story and why you believe this to be true. Be open. Make it a discussion not a lecture and your children will eagerly engage in the process.

Don't overdo it. While these moments are great opportunities for training, you don't have to turn every story time into a value building session. Let your children enjoy the books at face value as well. However, the more you practice this, the more natural it will become and it will be an anticipated part of your reading time together.

For older children. You may have older children who no longer read storybooks. Don't let that stop you from reading aloud with them everyday. Select a chapter book or children's novel and read a chapter a night. While you won't have the luxury of reading the same passage multiple times as with a storybook, you can still utilize the ideas above to create a springboard for a discussion on family values. As you close the book on the chapter just read, you can ask questions like, "What did you think about how Jack handled that situation?" "What would you have done?" "Why?" You can then discuss the guiding principles in your family that help inform you in those situations.

If you feel that your children are being bombarded with messages that contradict your family's core values, use daily reading time to help them get back on track. The training and foundation you provide can last a lifetime.