Personalized Childrens Books

2004
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Enjoy below one of our featured articles from our parenting section:

Why Children's Personalized Books? An Educators Perspective

Brenda Rollins, Ed.D.

     Knowing that someone thinks you’re special is, indeed, a very excellent state of mind. Being four years old and knowing that someone thinks you’re special is truly a gift for the soul. In our society, children often stay with non-family caregivers, see their parents for less than one hour a day, and know more about what is going on in their teachers’ lives than they do about their own mothers and fathers. I am sure that much of this “leaving” is of necessity and that most parents whose children hunger for attention are desperately trying to “be there and do that” for them. One way to help build positive self-esteem in small children is to provide books and toys and games which are personalized for the individual child.       
     Personalization is not a new technique – I remember buying these kinds of books for our oldest son who is 31 now – but with the advent of the internet, these books have become much more accessible. We all know how wonderful personalized books sound at first reading, but how many parents have taken the time to research whether or not these books are appropriate means of educating children? In this column I will identify several conclusions which are supported by valid research and set forth the conclusion that personalized books for young children are excellent methods for helping children grow into caring, thoughtful, and literate adults.

The goals of personalization
     Some of the major objectives for the writers who write these books, the publishers and publications who market these books, and the parents who buy these books are:

What is self-concept?
            “Self-concept” is defined as the sum total of all experiences we are exposed to over time (DeMoulin, 1999). As an educator, I have seen more than my share of children who truly dislike themselves. These are the children who are treated with sarcasm at an age when they are doing their best just to learn the language and the expected actions in their society. These are the children who are told many times a day that they are not good, nor smart, nor pretty or handsome. When negative thoughts are expressed over and over at the time when children are just beginning to realize that they are individuals, these thoughts take root and continue to grow and soon become fixed in the children’s developing brain. Too often, parents are not deliberately demeaning their offspring, but they sometimes forget that the words they say are heard by three or four-year-old ears and processed by a three or four-year-old brain. Children who feel special, act special and children who feel incapable and unsure act that way.

Self-concept and self-esteem

            When discussing a young child, self-esteem means the extent to which they expect to be accepted (Katz, 2003). Children with a healthy sense of self-esteem feel that the important adults in their lives accept them, care about them, and would go out of their way to ensure that they are safe and well. This feeling of being valued and loved gives children a sense of security and comfort. A child who has a healthy level of self-esteem is usually eager to learn new things and meet new people. The gesture of giving a personalized book communicates to the child, “I must be pretty good because my dad (or mom) paid money and time for me to have this book which is about me.”  Even if a child is too young to talk, the sense of comfort that having a personalized book and a caring adult to read it aloud is the same. Some points to remember about building positive self-esteem in children are:  

Why personalize?

     Since the late’70’s, there have been a number of research studies carried out at major universities attempting to prove that personalized learning materials, especially books, motivate children to learn and enhance their chances of achievement. Personalized books use names, places, and objects that are familiar to a child and make learning and listening much more enjoyable because the situation and the characters in a book are very familiar. By listening to the books being read or by reading the books themselves, children are motivated to learn and, as a by-product, they enjoy what they are reading or hearing. Children become focused - the primary ingredient for learning. Finally, by hearing personalized books, children can play the part of the characters with names just like theirs and they may become heroes to themselves and others (DeMoulin, 1999). Companies such as More4Kids Inc. offer a wide range of fun and educational personalized childrens books and personalized childrens music to choose from.
     In conclusion, the most important thought that I want you to take from this
conversation is that you, as parents, play a very important role in shaping your children’s self-esteem by treating them respectfully, taking their views and opinions seriously, and showing appreciation to them. Above all, please keep in mind that self-esteem is a very important part of every child’s development. Enjoy parenting your children and add to their self-esteem by reading personalized books to them.

References consulted for this article:

• How Can We Strengthen Children’s Self-Esteem? by Lillian Katz

          (Internet – www.kidsource.com).

·     The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
 

• More4Kids and Expressly Yours Publishing Companies

“A Personalized Development of Self-Concept for Beginning Readers” by Donald, DeMoulin. Education, (1999).