We at Family Friendly HQ are delighted to announce that we have teamed up with Children’s Books Ireland to launch a new initiative, #shareastory.
While many family members, especially grandparents, are finding it tough staying away from loved ones, this initiative can help them to enjoy reading together while staying apart.
A helpful video was launched today by Family Friendly HQ featuring CEO of Children's Books Ireland, Elaina Ryan. In the video Elaina explains how grandparents can still read a bedtime story to their grandchildren by following a few simple tips.
The partnership also includes a new reading hub on Family Friendly HQ. This new hub includes recommended reads and themed reading lists from Children's Books Ireland alongside reviews by the FFHQ team as a helpful resource for families.
Speaking about the partnership, Elaina Ryan explained,
‘While we are all staying at home, we’re aware that children’s routines now look very different and they may be missing their friends, families and especially their grandparents. We in Children’s Books Ireland believe that reading can be a real comfort during tough times like this. We also know that reading is linked with a myriad of positive outcomes for children, including improved mental wellbeing which is vitally important at this time. While we must stay apart, we would encourage families to share a story together.’
Richie Kelly, CEO of Packed.House said about the launch,
‘We are passionate about creating content that helps readers navigate through parenthood and providing meaningful solutions and guides to achieving quality family time. By partnering with Children’s Books Ireland, we can now showcase reading together as a solution to this problem. We are delighted to partner with them to launch #shareastory and will continue to work with them throughout the year to encourage and promote children reading in Irish homes.’
In a small survey carried out by Family Friendly HQ in February 2020, we discovered that while 100% of parents believed reading to children outside of school was important, 92% said they would like to read more to them. Just over half of respondents said a lack of time was one of the main barriers that stopped them and nearly all respondents (90%) said that their favourite reading format was a print book.
Children's Books Ireland works with families, teachers, libraries, publishers and communities all across the island to get books into children's hands. They believe that every child should have access to the joy of reading, regardless of their circumstances. Check out childrensbooksireland.iefor more information, reading suggestions and helpful resources.
