How to Help Your Child Write Their First Story

The best first story is about something your child already talks about: a pet, a favorite toy, a dinosaur, a trip to grandma's. Ask, "If you could make a book about anything, what would it be about?" and accept the first answer, however silly.

Real-life characters work beautifully. A story about the family dog getting lost in the backyard is a perfect first book.

Every story needs something to go wrong. Young kids rarely think of this on their own, so ask about it directly:

• What does your character want?
• What gets in the way?
• How do they fix it, or who helps them?

Those three answers are a whole story: a beginning, a middle and an end.

Have your child tell you the story out loud first. For younger kids, you can type or write exactly what they say. Telling it aloud helps them hear whether it makes sense, and it takes the pressure off spelling.

It is tempting to fix grammar and swap in better words. Resist it, at least for the first draft. A story full of the child's own phrasing is one they will want to read again and again, and that rereading is where much of the reading practice happens.

If you want to help with spelling, do it later and together: "Let's check how to spell dinosaur," not silent corrections.

Picture books for young readers often have just one or two sentences per page. Breaking the story into pages makes it feel like a real book, and each page becomes a natural place for a picture.

Children light up when their story looks like the books on their shelf. Add illustrations, a cover with their name as the author, and if they like, their own voice reading it aloud. Then read it together at bedtime.