Honey, let's read a story together; mothers' lived experiences of joint story‐reading with their child: Insights from an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)

Abstract

AbstractMother–child dyads were invited via Instagram to read 10 children's short stories together over the course of 10 weeks. Stories were read to/with the child on a self‐paced, once‐weekly basis in the mother's presence, on WhatsApp and Skype. Children were elementary school age, that is, 7–11 years. Analysis of interview transcriptions with mothers indicated three major themes: empathy, improved filial relations and emotion regulation of parent. Mothers emerged more empathic and aware of their emotions 3–4 weeks into the intervention, with a better understanding of and grip on themselves. They also experienced better regulation of emotion and a closer filial connection with their child over this period. Limitations of the study and guidelines for future research are also discussed.