Some research in the last decade suggests that children have become less empathetic and less creative. Scholars suggest that this may be due to the increased use of digital technology, increased screen time, and fewer interpersonal interactions.
The impact of this decline could be dramatic. Empathy and creativity aren’t just nice qualities to have — having these skills can mean better relationships, stronger academics, and greater career adaptability.
However, new research also suggests that a simple habit could help reverse this trend.
The Decline Of Storytime
Many of us read to our children a lot when they’re young. Storytime at bedtime or throughout the day is a regular occurrence in our routine. At these young ages, usually the emphasis is on helping them learn to read — decoding words, learning letter sounds, etc.
But once our children learn to read on their own, oftentimes the habit of reading aloud slips away. Our children may read on their own, but sometimes reading aloud becomes a thing of the past. We get busy and forget about this once-daily habit.
This seems like a natural progression, but one thing that happens when we quit reading aloud to our kids is that they miss out on the interaction with us and the questions that we might ask. Scholars suggest these may be the key to reigniting the development of empathy and creativity in children.
Reading aloud together isn’t just about the words on the page, but about the lessons and interactions that happen between the pages.
Reading Aloud Encourages Empathy And Creativity
In an effort to study the role reading might play in empathy and creativity, scholars have returned to the idea of story time for children, even older ones who know how to read on their own. In a recent study, researchers looked at families with kids aged 6 to 8 years old, the age when children often begin reading on their own more.
They had two groups in the study:
- One group had the parents read stories to their children each night for two weeks and asked questions along the way.
- The second group also read the same books, but were not told to ask their children questions about the books.
The study assessed children’s empathy and creativity before and after this storybook reading intervention. They used standard clinical measures of these skills.
What they found was pretty fascinating: all the children, regardless of whether their parents asked them questions or not, improved in both empathy and creativity. However, the children whose parents asked questions did seem to improve in creativity a bit more.
As for the questions themselves, the most effective ones tend to help children focus on how the emotions or choices of the characters: “What do you think she was feeling in that moment?” or “Do you think he could have made a different choice?”
These types of questions encourage children to think creatively and consider the character’s feelings.
Although small, this study shows that a simple habit like reading aloud a storybook may have the potential for a pretty dramatic impact on the development of these “soft skills” in children.
Empathy, of course, is more than just being nice to people; it’s understanding another person’s perspective and trying to put yourself in their shoes. This is where reading stories, particularly ones that involve reading about children who are different than themselves, can really help build empathy.
They can get into the mind of a character and experience the things they do. The addition of having a caregiver who’s asking questions only reemphasizes this process.
Keeping Creativity Alive
Young children typically have an openness to new ideas that we as adults sometimes lose over time. If fostered intentionally, this creativity can continue and develop, even in the midst of outside forces that tend to encourage children to think “inside the box.”
This new research illustrates that reading books to help open children’s eyes to new ideas and new solutions might encourage this kind of creative thinking.
Altogether, this type of research shows that there’s still some value to maintaining a read-aloud habit, even among older children who can read independently.
Reading aloud, continuing to ask children questions, and deeply considering the stories can foster these deeper lessons of empathy and creativity.
