By Dr. Ruthie Speidel

Reading together with your child is a wonderful way to connect. Stories let us see things from different points of view, read how characters are affected by others’ words and actions, and the story and pictures can be a great starting point for talking about emotions.

1. Grow emotional vocabulary by talking about emotions.

• “How is (character) feeling?”

• “How do you know (character) is feeling ____? What signs (expression/dialogue) et you know they feel ____?”

• “What do you think sparked (character’s) feeling?”

2. Bridge connections by noting similarities and differences between characters and oneself.

• “(Character) is feeling ____. When was a recent time you felt ____?”

• “How are you different from (character)? How are you similar?”

• Help children identify how different characters might perceive the same situation.

3. Support dialogue about how we might show empathy or kindness.

• “(Character) is feeling ____. If they were with us, how could we help them feel better?”

• Note and elaborate when kindness or empathy is modeled: “(Character) showed kindness by ____. How do you think that made (character) feel? Why?”

• “When has someone shown kindness to you recently? How did it make you feel?”

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