Has a family member ever asked you for tips on reducing a child’s challenging behavior? Or maybe for strategies to talk to their child about something they saw on the news? Perhaps they’ve sought activities to help their child develop empathy and learn about diversity? While there are many ways families can support social and emotional development, picture books are one powerful teaching tool. You can encourage families to support their children’s social and emotional development by reading and talking about picture books.

Many families are aware of the importance of reading to their children to support language and literacy growth, but they may not realize all of the developmental opportunities that reading together creates. For example, when a parent spends time talking with a child about the illustrations in a book—paying attention to the child’s thoughts and feelings—that builds the parent-child bond.

Topics that can be challenging to talk about, like bullying or jealousy, may be easier to address with a good book as a tool. However, it can take practice to know how to start these conversations. Many families also benefit from support around how to find and pick appropriate books in different formats (print as well as digital books) and to embed meaningful conversations about these topics into their time reading together.

Here are three strategies you (as the teacher) can use to help families turn picture books into tools to prompt rich conversations about expressing feelings, gaining self-esteem, showing perseverance, and many other important skills.

Provide a Lending Library

Establish a lending library in your classroom or school with picture books that families can check out to read at home with their children. Along with each book, develop a simple discussion guide for families. Include a few open-ended questions that families can ask and a brief activity they can do together after reading. Consider keeping your lending library in a front office space, laminating and cleaning discussion guides between uses and cleaning books and placing them in individual zip-top bags to help meet health and safety guidelines. Here are some books you could include in your lending library, along with sample discussion guides and sample activities.

Hold a Family Literacy Event

Family literacy events are a fun way to share the many different benefits of reading together. You could include a short workshop about how to use books to start conversations with children about social and emotional topics, especially any topics that may relate to current events or to your local community. For example, families may be interested in learning about books and strategies that can help them talk to their children about race or COVID-19. If possible, give families a chance to try out the strategies you introduce while reading with their child during the event.

Family literacy events work well in person or online—you could hold an event using an online platform like Zoom, Google Hangouts, or Facebook Live. Consider recording it so that families who miss it (or who want to watch it again) can view it.

Here is a possible structure you could use for a family literacy event. (This structure can be adapted for virtual workshops as well.)

• Families attend a workshop while their children spend time playing with program staff or volunteers. Families learn about the advantages and importance of reading aloud, strategies to use when reading aloud, and how to target social and emotional development.
• Families receive a picture book and discussion guide, then spend a few minutes thinking about how they will use it with their children. You can invite families to share their ideas and model a few strategies they could try.
• Children join their families. Families read with their children using their new book and discussion strategies. Everyone enjoys snacks and conversation, and you can walk around to answer any questions families have.

Highlight a Book in Your Communications with Families

If you have a class or program-wide newsletter, email, or social media page, select a picture book to highlight weekly or monthly. Try to select a book that families will be able to access easily, such as those you have in your school library, those available at a nearby public library, or through a library-affiliated e-book app. Share the title, a social or emotional skill to highlight, and a few questions families could use when talking to their children about the book. You could also invite families to share their experiences doing these read alouds and include their reflections and strategies in future newsletters.

This article originally appeared in the October/November 2020 issue of Teaching Young Children.

Photographs: © Getty Images
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