Read more. Know more. Care more.
Anyone who know kids knows they all think the world revolves around them. While being self-centered is developmentally appropriate for children, learning empathy is key to becoming a healthy adult. As you might expect, reading, for both children and adults, is a means to improving our ability to care about others.
Part of the reason we at BookGive are so passionate about giving free books is because we follow the science showing that when we read more, we not only know more, we care more.
When adults read storybooks, children step outside themselves and into the experiences of the characters, the foundational concept of empathy. In fact, some research shows that children neurologically embed story as if they literally went on those adventures personally.
To facilitate a deepening sense of empathy, adults can ask questions as they read aloud with children. Michele Borba, Ed.D, a renowned educator, speaker and parenting expert suggests including these three steps while reading to children to promote empathetic thinking:
- Ask “what if” questions.
- Ask “how would you feel?”
- Ask them to think about “you” instead of “me.”
By encouraging this dialogue while reading aloud, children can learn human experiences from a perspective other than their own. In this way, adults can encourage early readers to go well beyond loving to read; reading encourages them to love others.
Parent–child conversations around storybooks offer a chance to talk about emotions and the myriad of mental states we all experience throughout life. Reading storybooks not only increases literacy skills but increases their emotional vocabulary and creates valuable lessons in empathetic thinking that could spark a lifetime of caring for others.
In fact, some research puts this idea to the test: that reading more leads to caring more. Significant studies, like this one from the NIH, have shown that readers in general have higher levels of socio-emotional skills and emotional intelligence. According to research by social psychologist Emanuele Castano, reading fantasy genre fiction allows us to escape from reality, but to also understand the perspective of those different from ourselves and how to relate to others. His study also suggests that reading increases inmates’ empathy and social reasoning skills and that autistic people who read can empathize better without the side effects of medication.
As you read, for yourself and with the children in your life, know that you’re building up our collective human capacity for empathy, for the ability to imagine ourselves in someone else’s story. It isn’t just escaping, but opening yourself up to how another person lives, thinks and feels. Isn’t that the best reason to pick up a book?
This blog contributed by BookGive volunteer, Stacey McDole.
