Mother's Day is Sunday March 10th > SHOP NOW

Mother's Day is Sunday March 10th > SHOP NOW

Why do kids love to see themselves in a story?

Loading...
Why do kids love to see themselves in a story?

At Penwizard, we're devoted to making sure every child gets to be the hero of their own story. That's why we've created a line of kids' picture books that allow you to customize the images as well as the text. But why do kids want to be the center of a story? The answer has to do with the way their brains are developing.

Very young infants don't understand stories because they're still getting the hang of basic language, but a child's ability to grasp the structure of a narrative starts forming earlier than you might think. Experts recommend reading and telling stories to children because these activities are crucial to the development of a healthy young brain. As kids experience stories, their brains actually change structure, with more white matter growing in the regions that handle language development, attention, memory, and decision making. Even before kids can completely understand language, just the experience of reading aloud to your child can be a part of this crucial stage of brain formation.

As children age, they begin to develop their sense of how the world works and what their place is in it. If your toddler seems self-centered, that's perfectly normal! The part of the brain that helps us understand how other people's perspectives are different from our own makes huge developmental leaps between the ages of 6 and 13. Kids younger than that are perfectly capable of understanding stories, but they're more likely to mentally place themselves in the position of the protagonist in a story they're reading. This is why young children may become very upset if they're reading a story in which the protagonist is hurt, embarrassed, or treated poorly.

Because young kids see themselves the "hero" of the story, it can be a real thrill to read a book in which they can actually see their own avatar on the page. At Penwizard, we work with television and movie studios to include kids in stories about their favorite characters. We do this because this is the way young children engage in imaginative play; they love to see themselves in these books because this structure matches the way they experience stories.

Many of our books are developed for special occasions like birthdays and Christmas because these days are traditionally about celebrating and giving gifts to children. However, we also have developed books for Mother's Day, Father's Day, and other special occasions. These stories are designed to put kids in a situation where they're celebrating a loved one. Stories like these are how kids learn to relate to others with kindness. So if you're looking for the perfect gift for a new reader, pick up a personalized book today!