"We cannot underestimate the power of photographs to keep us feeling linked to others and belonging. For children in particular, looking at photographs is part of the socializing process; learning who you are and where you fit into the family."
- Professor Geoff Beattie, Head of School and Dean of Psychological Sciences at the University of Manchester
Did you know that regular exposure to family images can actually benefit your child? That's right. Leading experts agree that if children have exposure to images of themselves, family members, and friends from early on, they have an enhanced sense of belonging and self-confidence throughout their development. If a child grows up seeing photos of themselves proudly displayed around their care environment, it makes them feel valuable and that they are an integral part of their family unit. Self-esteem is something that most people struggle with at some point in their lives, but parents can help their young children feel a stronger sense of self-worth through displaying their family photos.
In addition to family photos benefitting a child's social-emotional development, there are also scientific reasons that our brains are drawn to images over text. Visual imagery can help tell stories that our brains can interpret faster– much faster– than the written word. The human brain can actually process images in as little as 13 milliseconds– 60,000 times faster than text. It is this data that helps us understand why we can process this:
much faster than this:
"...if parents, either verbally or in social media comments, use [their family] pictures to highlight a child’s clothing or to make judgments about a child’s appearance, for example, then they’re communicating to the child what’s significant in those photographs. So it’s essential to be aware of what message is being conveyed and how your child might interpret it."
- Sara Botto, Psychologist, Emory University
It's important to note, however, the dangers of parents and caregivers not reinforcing how and why we take pictures. If you take hundreds of photos of your child at a time only to let them remain on your camera rolls or social media profiles, you may be accidentally reinforcing a superficial emotion towards imagery that should be valued. According to renowned child psychologist Dr. Phillipe Rochat, Ph.D., "Constant documentation can translate as being “self-centered rather than kid-centered.” “Parents need to be aware of that, of how much they promote themselves through their kid.”
This is a big motivator for us at Stareworthy. We would love nothing more but to help teach children to value both their photos and the experiences behind them. This is what makes our photo books special– because they highlight the emotion behind the image– the reason for the photograph, and why it is something worth sharing. Their meaning is reinforced by our stories, which use engaging rhymes to promote phonemic skill development in babies and toddlers. Since our rhymes are written in iambic pentameter, they are easy first memorization pieces for young children, like nursery rhymes.
The unique combination of the sensory experience of flipping through the pages of a photo book and seeing images of themselves and their loved ones, paired with memorable rhymes to frame the experience behind the photo, makes our books great additions to any child's bookshelf. They are designed to incorporate all of the benefits exposure to our family photos provides for a child, the social-emotional benefits from early reading together with care givers, and the incredible foundation for linguistics that will serve them for the rest of their lives.
