Whether it's a bedtime story or an afternoon reading session, reading short stories is particularly important for children between the ages of 2 and 5. Stories are a fundamental tool for the development of emotions.
Between the ages of two and five, feelings such as insecurity, jealousy, envy, pride and self-confidence begin to develop and mature.
Many of the frustrations and fears that we are familiar with as adults can have their origins in the childhood phase from the age of two. In order to nurture children's emotional world, parents need to introduce them to these feelings, confront them with them so that they can express themselves when they feel them. When children are able to name the nature of a feeling, they can also learn to interpret, understand and respect the feelings of others and, if necessary, control the expression of feelings.
This is why children need to get used to expressing feelings in a safe and protected environment at an early age. Some feelings serve to influence the child's character, such as confidence in themselves and others, expectation and success. Others restrict thinking; these include fear, anger, guilt, jealousy and nervousness.
Emotional tension over a longer period of time can hinder a child's intellectual abilities and limit their ability to learn.
A small child at the age of two or three receives the stimuli of its environment as a stimulus to its cognitive potential. Over time, this potential takes shape and consistency and can be actively supported by the parents.
Children live in a fantasy world in which every object leads its own life. The fantasy world is another form of reality. Children identify with the figures of fantasy, describe unimaginable worlds and project fantasy into their reality in order to free their subconscious from fears and frustration and stimulate their creativity.
Imagination and emotions are fuelled by stories. At this age, children are particularly easily influenced, which is why their parents' stories are crucial as transmitters of social values.
Reading aloud should be a very special moment, a time for sharing feelings and ideas, for travelling together into a fantasy world. To make reading aloud important, the place where it takes place is also crucial. The moment before bedtime is good, when parent and child sit down together in the child's bed, where the child can then snuggle down to sleep.
For a three-year-old child, the stories should have short texts and lots of illustrations.
Young children only perceive short, coherent frequencies with their ears and eyes. They are more interested in the sequence of certain actions, easily accessible protagonists, familiar objects from their environment and personified animals than the content of the story.
Children's attention span depends primarily on their understanding of the story and the reader's ability to animate the story.
A child should generally hear stories frequently and regularly, listen to stories and learn songs and rhymes. This provides a rich vocabulary and a variety of different emotions.
