Once upon a time: how do you tell stories to children in the family context?

• Grant number: 18/07697-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Speech Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Simone Aparecida Lopes-Herrera
• Grantee: Isa Augusta Campos Trindade
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru (FOB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Oral language acquisition is an important milestone in child's development and depends directly on the children's interaction with model interlocutors, with adults playing a fundamental role as an appropriate model of speech. There are many ways these interactions occur, including reading and storytelling. Objective: to investigate whether parents and / or caregivers of children tell or read stories, exploring the characteristics of this interaction. Materials and Methods: 30 parents and/or caregivers of children between 0 and 6 years old, recruited by social media, will participate in a pilot study. From this study, the sample calculation will be done to determine the final number of participants. All participants will respond to two online questionnaires available through Google Forms: the first, a survey-specific questionnaire (will explore characteristics of reading and storytelling habits, such as frequency, type of stories, and so on) and the second is a socioeconomic characterization. Participants will have to agree to participate in the survey, by means of a Free and Informed Consent Form. All procedures will be submitted to the Ethics and Research Committee on Human Beings of FOB-USP. The stages of the study methodology will be: Literature review; Elaboration of the questionnaires; Pilot Study; Application of questionnaires; Data analysis (performed using descriptive statistics). Expected Outcome: From the study, it is expected to outline a profile of how parents and/or caregivers of children between 0 and 6 years old read and tell stories to their children. This information may help determine which populations need more guidance on such practice, as well as guide social campaigns and actions to make reading and storytelling one of the effective oral language stimulation strategies as a habit of the Brazilian family.