As a teenager, I started writing for children because their pure spirit inspired me so much! Then, when I became a mom, my children became my central life focus, and today as a grandma, Lolita is my most significant source of inspiration! I want to ensure Lolita’s upbringing is as enriching to help her become a vital contributor to the society of the future. It is also my hope that my books also contribute to the rest of tomorrow’s society. Therefore, I develop my characters with great care and instill important human values to help enhance children’s character development. I find characters so crucial in children’s upbringing that I design them as beautiful and inspiring as possible and include them in my brand’s clothing as embroideries, stamped, and embossed. I am now even printing a few of their stories inside the apparel. Studies show the importance of book characters in these ways:
- Moral development: Characters that embody essential human values such as empathy, kindness, honesty, and fairness can serve as positive role models for children. By forming a bond with these characters, children are more likely to internalize and adopt these values in their own lives. A study by Johnson et al. (2017) published in the Journal of Moral Education found that children who identified with fictional characters with positive moral qualities had higher moral reasoning abilities than those who did not.
- Emotional development: Bonding with literary characters allows children to experience various emotions, helping them develop emotional intelligence and empathy. Children can learn to understand and manage their feelings by identifying with characters’ struggles, triumphs, and emotions. A study by Mar et al. (2009) published in Science showed that reading fiction increased participants’ ability to understand and empathize with others’ feelings.
- Cognitive development: Engaging with literary characters helps children develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Characters facing dilemmas or challenges can provide children opportunities to think about and analyze different perspectives, consider consequences, and make decisions. A study by Oatley (2004) published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology found that reading fiction improves individuals’ abilities to understand complex social relationships and navigate social situations.
Bibliography:
- Johnson, C.M., Keane, S.P., & Molloy, E. (2017). The relationship between children’s identification with moral exemplar characters and their moral reasoning abilities. Journal of Moral Education, 46(4), 434-452.
- Mar, R.A., Oatley, K., & Peterson, J.B. (2009). Exploring the link between reading fiction and empathy: Ruling out individual differences and examining outcomes. Communications, 34(4), 407-428.
- Oatley, K. (2004). Why fiction may be twice as true as fact: Fiction as cognitive and emotional simulation. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 18(9), 1209-1220.
