Sibling bickering is nothing new. Ask any parent, and they’d say they’ve all lost count of how many times they had to break up fights only to hear, “He started it… no, he started it!” And off they go into time out.
Spending quality time and reading together is one of the most precious memories you can make with your kids. It can help a family bond, creating a sense of belonging and security for each member of the family.
Strong family bonds can also help improve children’s cognitive development. Relationships between siblings are one of the most long-lasting and influential relationships they will experience in their lives.
You can do several things to encourage and foster bonds between siblings, whether they are biological or adopted. Here is how reading can help with sibling bonding:
Older Siblings Becoming More Responsible
Older siblings can act as confidants and build their literacy and confidence skills when they read to their younger siblings. It will also help them feel more responsible for their well-being and develop an emotional bond and protective instincts towards a younger sibling. By listening to their older siblings, the younger kids will develop admiration and respect for them. The older kids will also be able to practice reading fluency on easier books.
Role Models For Younger Siblings
The younger siblings will see role models in their older siblings. When older siblings read aloud interesting children’s storybooks, the younger siblings can observe pronunciation and fluency. So, when they try reading, the older sibling can correct a mistake or help them when their younger sibling stumbles on a complex word. They will essentially teach each other gently and compassionately and share information.
Book Searching
Siblings who develop a love of reading can go on a book hunt together to libraries, old bookstores, or search through online bookstores. They can flip through colorful pages, check out illustrations, discuss characters and storylines. They can bond over which books to get and read from. If the book is a little advanced, the older sibling can also offer to read.
Online bookstores also offer multilingual books you can try getting for your children. If they are interested in learning a new language together, get kid storybooks with CDs, and learning through audiovisuals.
Online bookstores like Cat Fish Waiter offer English learning books for beginners, and multilingual storybooks for kids with audiovisuals, so that your child can learn to develop reading and listening skills at the same time. Siblings can discuss what they learn and use this as a bonding activity.
Do you know you can get some peace in the house if you get your children to read together? Cat Fish Waiter is a unique and useful online bookstore for children’s storybooks. We have multilingual storybooks for kids in three languages with audiovisuals that can help your child develop listening and comprehension skills. Place an order with us on our website for more information.