Stories form a part of every child’s life – they help us to understand our culture, history, world, and also allow children to find themselves in stories.
#CYPMefirst offers resources and ideas about communicating with children and young people, and I see books and stories as part of these resources.
Who else can remember their favourite childhood book, that helped them to negotiate some of the more challenging experiences, or helped them realise they were not alone?
Judy Blume stories helped me as a child to understand sibling relationships, and puberty, and I have often turned to stories as an adult as distraction or to view things from another perspective, as well as in my role as a nurse.
The range of books available to represent the wider diversity of life has never been better, and I wanted to share some of my favourite resources and books.
It’s Pride month, and there are some fantastic books that look at LGBT experiences and the kaleidoscope of families:
When children require hospital care, there are a number of books that help explain conditions, or procedures – here are some examples:
Some children may have communication challenges, and simple images or books can be used to tell a story, for example “now and next”, which is really useful for transitions too. Using stories with additional resources can be a great way in bringing play into therapy for example speech and language, or activities – Going on a Bear Hunt by Micheal Rosen is great for developing sound making and different movements.
Books can also help with discussion of some subjects that may be more sensitive, such as continence, mental health and loss.
“Shelf Help” is a term now often used about how we can use books to be supportive therapeutic tools, and books are now found in many clinics or hospital environments. In addition, libraries offer books on prescription to support with health and wellbeing.
Here are some of my favourite resources for book ideas (and thank you to Helen Walton from the Evelina school for her suggestions):
https://readingagency.org.uk/young-people/quick-guides/reading-well/
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/our-recommendations/booklists/
https://www.littleparachutes.com/
We’d love to hear about any of your favourite books and stories – please do share any suggestions for our resource hub.
Jessie McCulloch, Lead Practice Educator, Me first