“Preschoolers who sing, tell stories and eat dinner with their families tend to be emotionally healthier and better adjusted socially than kids who don’t have such routines . . . ” This is from a Reuter’s article, Kids With Family Routines More Emotionally, Socially Advanced, in which Allison Bond reports on a study in the February/March 2014 issue of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
Routinely playing and singing with your children, reading and telling stories to them (and encouraging them to tell their own stories), and having dinner as a family are small steps that impact a child’s social and emotional health in a big way. I have such fond memories of singing with my mother and sisters while we did the dishes after dinner. My mother sang harmony, which sounded absolutely beautiful to my childish ear. Establish your own routines that your children will be happy to look back on someday.
Okay, everybody. Sing!
