Want Brighter, Kinder, and Healthier Kids? Take Them to the Library!
Public libraries facilitate intellectual and social-emotional learning opportunities for children
As a parent, there’s nothing more important than ensuring that your child learns the intellectual and emotional skills they need to be successful in our complex and confusing world. To teach them these skills, you need to find their ideal learning environment. As with so many other things, your local library is the perfect solution and is full of resources to help your child as they develop into adulthood.
How Do Libraries Benefit Children?
While this probably isn’t the first time you’ve heard that libraries are good for your children, you may not know the many reasons why. Although you might think of libraries primarily as a place to find new and interesting literature, they’re so much more than that. The services that libraries offer benefit your children in two main ways: academic improvement and emotional growth.
Improved Academic Outcomes
It’s no secret that reading books can help children learn more and make better grades in class. A 2023 research study states that students who read more have a greater chance of good academic performance, and there’s no better place to find new reading material than the local library.
Public libraries offer more direct academic help as well. Many libraries allow students to form study groups or attend free one-on-one tutoring sessions. In addition, the librarians are knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects and can help guide your children toward the resources they need to succeed.
Receiving guidance gives your child a sense of direction, but finding the answer to their problem is still largely up to them. This teaches them a far more important lesson than any school subject: the ability to act self-sufficiently.
A Greater Sense of Empathy
Studies show that reading fiction from an early age helps to foster empathy in children. Fictional stories are designed to create characters that the reader can relate to and connect to. Forming these fictional connections allows them to better understand that other people are complex individuals, which helps them to better empathize with their thoughts, emotions, and struggles.
Developing empathy in this way is a crucial developmental step for your children and will help them grow into kind and caring adults.
The Best Library Activities for Your Child
Of course, your child can only truly grow if they’re connected to groups and activities that will help them along. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of either at your local library. The library has something for every child, from academics to more creative subjects.
Book Clubs
Fewer and fewer children regularly read as the years go on, and it’s starting to become a problem. It’s not that they have anything against reading; it’s just that other forms of entertainment are easier to digest and more readily accessible.
If presented with a great book and a community to discuss it with, many children are more than willing to pick up reading as a hobby. Most public libraries host regular book clubs, so check your local library’s website and ask your child if they might be interested!
Creative Activities
Of course, libraries also have spaces for kids to create art rather than simply consume it. We’ve written about library makerspaces before, but they’re still important to draw attention to. Makerspaces present opportunities for children to explore creative hobbies they may not have the money or equipment to check out otherwise. With a community full of fellow creatives in these spaces, your child can work to create something unique, learn a new skill, and make lifelong friends.
If you’d like to learn more about the ways that libraries can help your kids grow into happy, well-rounded adults, check out the stories on our Families feature page today!
Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.
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