From ink to interfaces

From ink to interfaces; the importance of storytelling and interaction within parent-child dynamics (Third-year university academic essay) Many people can probably pinpoint a time in their early childhood when being read to by an adult or a significantly older figure was the norm. In some cases, this would be a teacher, parent or sibling engaging with the child, but neither the less most of them have probably shared that similar experience in some capacity. This piece of text will explore the developmental, social and psychological effects interactive reading and storytelling have within parent-child dynamics as well as ways of better integrating story time to reap the benefits more successfully at home even with older children. According to a Scholastic report on family reading experiences in the US, 66% of parental figures read to their children within the 0-5-year-old bracket at least once a week, engaging with one full book or more at a time despite many literacy organizations such as the National literacy trust suggesting children be read to once per day (The 2015 Kids and Family Reading Report, 2015) (National Literacy Trust, 2018). Such an integral part of childhood isn't just restricted to the confines of the family home. Schools often engage with similar interactive reading practices as part of both curriculum and through the promotion of personal opportunities, such as by introducing pop up libraries and incentives (Pop-Up Bookshop, 2019), in efforts to set younger people up better for future reading. Within the Oxford school improvement guidelines, there are publications which put heavy emphasis on helping build ’outstanding’ reading schools which help facilitate children’s reading in future practice (Building an outstanding reading school, 2017). Within these guidelines ’reading aloud’ is noted as a key part of literacy engagement within schools, even in older key stage classrooms, despite many parents reporting a drop in at home interactive reading between 6-8 years old and ages 9-11 (The 2015 Kids and Family Reading Report, 2015). Through engagement of interactive reading with older children in classroom settings, particularly through being read aloud to by teachers and peers, it exposes them to vocabulary, syntax and concepts they would otherwise not be exposed to within their personal reading, due to a supposed perception that they are unable to comprehend it well enough. With this exposure a child's personal literacy skills can improve, encouraging them to read more complex books in independent reading time, furthering enjoyment through reading experiences (Mol and Bus, 2011). The merits to interactive reading within classrooms are evident in improving literacy comprehension in older children, which begs the question as to why reading aloud practices aren't implemented in personal home environments as much within older age groups. Reading aloud to a child or having them read to you as a parental figure can be used a tool for facilitating natural and engaging conversation, which has a number of benefits both to the child engaging in the interactive reading and the parent. In an interview with Jim Trelease, a scholar and author of the ’Read aloud handbook’, he suggests that being read aloud to by a parent even as an older child is a beneficial way of helping them ”grapple with difficult issues”(Matthiessen, 2017). In this case, the book acts as a talking device, allowing the child to either relate a subject to their own life and strifes or help the parents engage with sensitive or abstract concepts to the child. In a study on empathetic development and reading aloud within children in which participants aged between 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 years old, alongside their parents, reported their read aloud habits, it's suggested that mothers who read to their children more frequently had children who expressed better empathy skills, expressing positive development in cognition. This result is even more evident when the parental figure engages in deeper conversation, supporting the idea that conversations with children lead to improvements in their development throughout all age groups (Aram and Shapira, 2013). Communication between parents and their children generally is key to improving other social skills for the child such as the ability to convey ideas, find diplomatic solutions to conflict and knowing their self-worth. When a parent is able to engage with the child they set up a good model for their ’verbal competency’, which refers to how they express themselves verbally (Kumon UK, 2019). Having designated and regular routine interactive reading time within the familial unit can help facilitate these beneficial conversations, allowing explicit time for parental engagement as well as providing a period in which the child knows they can initiate talking through the read-aloud time. Aforementioned family rituals and standard activities can be a beneficial way of encouraging positive familial bonding. Having a specified time for family-specific interactions can allow more opportunities for emotional connections to be made, and value to be attached to specific members of the family, helping solidify their roles within the dynamics (Spagnola and Fiese, 2007). Interactive reading practices can themselves become rituals, for example, having a nighttime story read every night is a way of having a consistent, confined time frame to allow for the previously mentioned emotional connective benefits to be reaped. Better bonding between a parent and their child can help improve a child's self-esteem, affecting them well into adulthood. (Wallersteiner, 2015). Solidifying a strong parental connection can make such a large improvement to their mental health, extending its value way beyond their formative years. Storytelling is easy to implement in the form of bedtime stories, utilizing the time frame before bed for specifically storytelling. Innately, as humans, we understand, learn and engage through narrative and storytelling (Hinchman and Hinchman, 2001). The ability to acknowledge and engage with different emotions is improved through stories, connecting real feelings with fictitious ones (Rutleedge, 2011). Facilitating a narrative environment through bedtime stories as a routine procedure has the potential to further the effects of a family ritual, improving emotional bonds and understanding between the parent and child better as storytelling already encourages better emotional competency. A study into attachment and frequency of reading within mother and child parings supports this suggestion, deriving strong connections between the two. Mothers who read frequently read to their child were evaluated to have more secure dynamics and attachments to one another. This may act as proof that the emotional bond is stronger, however, it should be noted that potentially one may infer the other; mothers who had already bonded better with their children may be more competent at reading to them because of that (Bus and van Ijzendoorn, 1992). Storytelling isn't just achieved through interactive reading; there are a number of ways in which parents and children can achieve the benefits of narrative experiences through other mediums. Playing is a form of storytelling in of itself, using dynamic changes to form narratives, shape relationships and such. For example, during play sessions children will frequently engage in familial fantasy play in which the child enacts ’adult’ behaviours such as shopping, cooking or getting married. This type of activity helps them understand these adult abstract concepts better, allowing them to test out particular dynamics within a consequence-free environment (Doris, 2002). They build a narrative to further understanding of their world and environments. If a parent engages with their child's playtime they can still acquire similar benefits to interactive reading practices. Numerous studies have found support for the notion that playing with your child improves social skills, similar to how Kumon found that interactive reading improved social skill. One study in particular by Lindsey and Mize observed that having a parent mutually engaging within a child's playtime improve their ability for sociability. Their knowledge of emotions and understandings of which became richer after parental engagement with their playing (Lindsey and Mize, 2000). Additional play specific benefits within parent and child dynamics exist; one study in which joint play with mothers and their children was evaluated over a longitudinal time frame evaluated the effects ’joint play’ had on the children's developments of conduct problems. The former refers to a childhood mental health disorder in which social norms for their age group aren't adhered to, creating antisocial tendencies (RC PSYCH ROYAL COLLEGE OF PSYCHIATRISTS, 2019). Within the study, the researchers unearthed positive correlations between the number of time mothers engaged in joint play with their three-year-olds and the child's improvement in conduct problems. Similarly, the more time the children spent without their mothers were shown to predict poorer conduct scores, having the opposite effect on mothers interactive engagement. The results in this study support the notion that maternal pretend play helps improve sociability within children and their cognitive development (Gardner et al., 2003). Coupled with the better understanding of abstract emotional concepts, the play seems to be a strong method of storytelling which facilitates healthier social skills within children. Parents and children can engage with better mutual play time by having parents engage in different unique and unexpected ways. An article on parents.com provides one writer's findings regarding her imaginative play with her children. She takes a ’yes’ philosophy with her daughter in one instance, removing her need to create excuses not to engage in play whilst simultaneously allowing the story to develop. In particular, she uses ’yes, and’ statements to make sure she is engaging within the playful narrative to help keep her child engaged and consequentially reaping the storytelling benefits (Glembocki, 2002). Additionally, articles on improving imaginative play with children frequently specify that within playful scenarios parents should remember that the third child is the expert. Modelling is a way in which parents can take a backseat approach to their child's imaginative play while still providing the methods for both paternal and maternal bonding. This involves suggesting uses for a thing like a toy, not directly telling them what it is. In an article on, the example the author gives is that parents can use phrases such as ’we could use this block as her birthday present’. This act of modelling helps draw the child's narrative along while still having parental involvement (ChildrensMD, 2018). Play isn't just restricted to familial fantasies and other imagination based dynamic practices. The family board game is a staple of Friday nights. The American market growth prediction for 2012 infers that the market for board games is growing, with the predicted value improving by well over double from 2018 (Statista, 2019). This shows that board games are still popular and actually thriving. Scholastic provides a hefty list of the potential benefits engaging with board games can have with children when playing with their families. In terms of the child, playing board games with an adult can help them learn numerical skills, have visual improvements as well as dexterity. Similar to the research into storytelling within parent-child dynamics, the article states the social benefits within society and parental bonding. The imposed restrictions on board games for example, like turn-taking, help social norm adherence, leading to better relationship experiences. The parental figure can help reinforce these limits in the play, subtly further engaging the child within the confines of rules within the game. The concept of ’winning’ within the context of board games is evaluated. Scholastic recommends enforcing fair play throughout the game, however, there are opportunities for rule bending if it's outlined and accepted as an additional rule. For example, the article states that a parent can ask "Are we playing by regular or cheating rules today?” to accommodate a child to help the child win while still making things fair and teaching those essential skills (Scholastic parents staff, 2019). In terms of personal family benefits, some research and evaluations from experts have theorised that in particular the face to face physical interactions can have specific improvements. Kansas state university agent Elizebeth Brunscheen-Cartagena suggests intergenerational interactions are improved, stating that playing board games as a family ”... Helps family members across generation connect, compete, and have a great time together, ” which is furthered through the use of face to face interactions which are encouraged and essentially needed for board game play. She expresses that the ”... vital human component” of direct facial interaction is promoted with this type of game. Importantly, she includes reference to benefits for older children, including the parents themselves and older children. Pain and stress relief can be improved through playing board games, triggering endorphins which are the ”...feel-good chemical”. Alongside the positive chemical changes, even preadolescents and adults can still teenage with their own social skills, helping support empathetic processes and positive relationship interaction (Newswise.com, 2016). The familial bond can also be facilitated through the use of video games as opposed to purely physical ones. Within one Forbes article, the author articulates how cooperative gaming with his own children allows conversations about cosmetics, in particular regarding levels designs, to be discussed. Additionally, topics can turn to emotions and ethics, allowing for the child to convey their own particular emotions and entities through fictitious processes, strengthening the parental bond through emotional discussion (Shapiro, 2013). This is supported by the aforementioned researched into interactive reading and its link to encouraging open emotional discussion and help in improving a child's emotional competency (Kumon UK, 2019). Research by Arizona State University scientists has found that generally shared experiences in video game play ”...cultivates family bonding” and giving almost a space for it. The University itself has previously hosted an ’intergenerational gaming night’ in its own words hosted by its Center for games and impact at an art museum. Within the space of the museum, children and their parents collectively explore games together, allowing for nostalgic discussion from the parents too through the use of older games (ASU Now: Access, Excellence, Impact, 2013). Some writers have suggested that sharing nostalgic experiences and features of a parent's own childhood helps create a unique experience between the parent and the child, as that nostalgia is effectively inexperienced in context of the modern day, making it new for even the parent (Power, 2019). Throughout this text, the commonalities within the psychological development of children, their parental relationships and ability for communication have been noted. Interactive reading and read-aloud time have been a staple within the family home for years, in particular through the introduction of child-centric novels such as Lewis Carrol’s Alice’s adventures in wonderland (Rivera, 2018). Play generally has been shown to aid in a child's creative and social development, while helping to encourage strong parental bonds. Engaging with both of these as rituals help facilitate spaces for family and conversation promoting good relationships. One of the benefits of family traditions and ritualistic activities is that it can inform how the family shares heritage and history (Fraser-Thill, 2018). Both video and digital games, just like books, can often be about particular cultures, helping to educate the child of their family historical practices. Both of these two mediums also help further a lot of the reading and play benefits, as often the core is the narrative, interaction and playful actions. Therefore, both can be important in building hefty connections and engaging with hard conversations, which help strengthen bonds. The shared experience between both the parent and child encourages the bond between them to bloom and blossom in unique, imaginative and poignant ways. When designing for the family market or to engage with the parent and child symbiotically the designer needs to keep in mind the idea of creating a space to facilitate all the benefits of storytelling and playful practice.