Going to the doctor’s office you are likely to get handouts on important health topics. You might have noticed that these handouts are always full of information but is usually in very small font, with A LOT of words that sometime are hard to pronounce and challenging to read. This can be a problem for families who have a harder time with reading.
There has been a lot of emphasis within medicine to help patients be active participants in their care. Half of the battle is making sure our communication with families is clear, concise and easy to understand. Not just with how we say things, but with the written material we hand out.
In some ways, it is more important to ensure that the pamphlets & handouts are easy to read and understand because parents will refer to and share this information with other family and friends.
We have explored the use of children’s books to share parenting information. Why? Because children’s books are written in simple and plain language, have colorful illustrations and can be easily understood. The bonus? It is sure to be used by parents and children TOGETHER to learn and can be easily read and shared with others. Even if one parent has a harder time with reading, you can usually follow the storyline through pictures and still grasp the ideas and concepts contained within.
One of my studies published in 2012 tested whether children’s books by author, Stacey Kaye (ParentSmart KidHappy series) could be used in pediatric clinics as a way to share positive parenting information to families. Parents and children LOVED these books! Parents learned different ways of handling common situations through the illustrations and story. Children asked their parents to read it over and over. See the Press Release for a summary of our findings. The full article is published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.
Starting this Sunday I will be sharing a book review of some of my favorite children’s books I use or recommend to families. There are so many wonderful books out there and more titles come out all the time.
Share your favorites for each pediatric or parenting issue when I post reviews so we can chat about your favorite children’s’ books!