The benefits of reading stories to children go far beyond bonding and creating strong relationships. Stories can help children improve their theory of mind, empathy, self-regulation, and literary development. 

Social-emotional learning is the process of acquiring knowledge and applying it to different attitudes and skills necessary for understanding emotions. It helps us accomplish our goals, cultivate positive relationships, and show empathy for others. Many educators now recognize the importance of helping children learn social-emotional skills and work to develop them in the classroom.

Reading is one of the most beneficial ways to develop emotional recognition. It helps children identify others’ cues of what characters could be feeling. On top of this, reading can also help children learn empathy. By identifying characters’ emotions, children learn how to imagine what others are feeling. 

Reading stories ultimately fosters many essential skills for social-emotional development. It helps children learn empathy, self-regulation, perspective-taking, emotional recognition, and so much more. 

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Emma Dineen

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant

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