Why does my child love to join in with parts of familiar stories?

You might let out a little sigh when the same book comes out again, and again, but hearing the same words being read helps your child learn as they can better understand word meanings and how to use them in context. It’s typical for children to enjoy books that have repetitive and familiar phrases as they are easier for them to remember, and it’s quite fun for them to chant along with you as you read! 

Why repetition in stories is good... 

Hearing and saying the same words is great for your child’s vocabulary. It gives them a richer understanding of the words which will help them when they learn how to chat to other people. 

Repetition helps to reinforce their memory. When your child repeats parts of familiar stories, the words become easier to remember. 

Knowing what comes next gives them a bit of control and structure. Days can often be busy, and children have little control about what they are doing. The familiarity of a book gives them a comfort blanket, a safe space with no surprises. 

So why does your child love to join in? 

Joining in with the words they know helps them feel confident and secure. Their confidence will steadily grow and develop, helping them to eventually read on their own.   

Saying words from a story together helps build a stronger bond and connection between you. You’ll get to know which parts of the story your child can say aloud, and this can be used in a playful way when you’re reading to them.  

Joining in can be active and exciting. There might be some actions that your child can join in with as they say or shout out the words they know. It’s always good to get moving, even if they simply throw an arm in the air as they speak. 

Joining with a story can help your child to feel good! You might see them getting a little excited when they know they can join in with the next bit of the story, and then they might belt out the words they know. This is great for their confidence and also for their storytelling skills. 

Here are five tips to encourage your child to join in with stories 

1. Find out which books your child enjoys joining in with the most by listening to them and watching their body language when you read.  

When they are interested in a story, they’ll get to know it better and be more able to join in the parts. 

2. Read stories with lots of enthusiasm!  

Using a melodic tone and changing the pitch when the repetitive phrases are being read can help keep them engaged and understand how to use expressions when they join in with their favourite parts. 

3. Give your child time to join in with repetitive phrases. 

Sometimes your child might be eager to chant the phrase they know and love, but if they’re still learning, they may need a little time to process the story and understand where the phrases are.  

4. Point to the written text as you read. 

This is beneficial for a few reasons! Seeing where the words are supports your child to understand that print carries meaning, it will help them predict when the repetitious phrases are coming as they’ll link the pages and illustrations to the text and they’ll also begin to understand that in English, text is written from left to right and top to bottom.  

5. Read together when you have plenty of time and you are both feeling ready for an active story time. 

Having enough time means you can spend as long or as short a time as your child needs to enjoy the book, and remember: they may want it read more than once too!