If you think journaling is an activity only for adults and teens, you’re in for a big surprise! Journaling might look a little different for kids, depending on their age, but kids can still benefit from starting a journal. There are many benefits of kids journaling, and in this post, I’m going to share 5 benefits of journaling for kids and why your kids should start journaling today.
Journaling Allows Kids to Express Their Feelings in a Safe Environment
One of the 5 benefits of journaling for kids is that it provides a safe, private, and non-judgmental space for kids to write about anything they want, including what they are thinking or feeling. It’s important that as a parent, you allow your children’s journals to remain private and only for their eyes, unless they ask otherwise.
While your kids probably feel safe talking to you about certain things, they also need a place that is all theirs. Where they know they won’t have a voice on the other end commenting on their thoughts or feelings. Kids can really bloom and grow by just being given a journal that is private. You’ll be amazed by how much less stressed your kids become!
Journaling Can Improve Kids Writing and Reading Skills
The more your kids write and read what they write, the more their reading and writing skills are going to improve! Think about all the times your children currently write or read anything. It’s probably mostly for school and homework, maybe some reading on their devices or books they love.
But what about writing? Kids rarely write much outside of their school work. Journaling routinely gives them frequent practice allowing them to improve their writing skills. Journaling can be an enjoyable way for them to improve reading and writing skills! When you provide them with fun, creative journal writing prompts journaling doesn’t feel like “work” at all! Go here to get access to a free list of journal writing prompts that you can share with your child.
Journaling Can Help Kids Become More Creative
Journal writing for kids has also been known to help children become more creative. Not just with the way they work out what they want to write, but also in how they design their different journal pages. Kids often flourish when they can use color and design on their journal pages. You might want to try out blank journal pages without lines, so they can treat it like a doodle page. Provide crayons, colored pencils, watercolor, stencils, stickers, and different types of pens to encourage their creativity. Here is a great resource that you can use to start your child’s journal today.
Journaling Can Help Develop Critical Thinking and Communication Skills
Another one of the benefits of journaling for kids is that journaling can help kids of different ages develop critical thinking skills and even improve their communication skills. It takes a little critical thinking to answer a question asked in a journal writing prompt, even one that might seem simple to you! Kids who get into a journaling routine can improve thought organization and learn to communicate their thoughts and feelings in a more organized way. Improved critical thinking and communication are wonderful skills that kids of any age can learn through journaling.
Journaling Can Help Improve Self-Esteem & Confidence
The reason we encourage kids to write in a journal is because it can help with their confidence and self-esteem. You’re probably aware of how fragile this can be in your youth, and want to help your kids grow up having a healthy self-esteem and feeling confident as much as possible. Journaling is a wonderful way to do that. Just through the act of writing with open and honesty, kids can often discover patterns of negative self-talk that need to be changed. This can give them a little insight into their own self-esteem issues that need to be addressed.
These are just 5 of the benefits of journaling for kids. There are so many more reasons to help your child start journaling today! To learn more about journaling for kids, join our FREE 7-Day Journaling for Kids Challenge. You can read all about it here! Hope to see you inside!