Diary Writing For Kids: The Endless Benefits & How To Encourage It

With so many benefits related to diary writing, it is a wonder we all don’t keep one! No matter how old your child is, there are many benefits from keeping a diary:

Keeping a Diary Creates a Lasting Record of Events

When your child keeps a diary, they capture activities they participated in and how they felt at the time. Looking back at what they accomplished, and their feelings can serve as a touchpoint for future events. Additionally, it helps them remember childhood events, the memory of which may slip away as the years pass. Your child will be able to recapture childhood memories and examine them more deeply as they get older.

Keeping a Diary Stimulates the Mind

According to a 2015 report by the National Literacy Trust, children who write in diary at least once a month are more likely to write above the expected level for their age than those who do not write in a diary. The act of writing engages the brain. In order to write, your child must think. Writing in a diary daily encourages reflection and engagement. As you child matures and their writing becomes more detailed, they will learn to process and communicate complex ideas effectively. Daily journal or diary writing also helps your child learn to break down complex experiences into relevant, useful bits of information; thus, enhancing organizational skills.

Keeping a Diary Makes for a Healthy Mind

Writing in a diary helps reduce stress. Recording feelings in a diary gives your child a safe, cathartic way to release their emotions. Your child can record and relive events they have experienced without the fear of any negative consequences for doing so. Additionally, keeping a diary and recording life events can increase a child’s self-esteem.

Frequently, teens and tweens experience emotional problems and an older child with a diary is less likely to feel lonely and isolated. They are able to have written “conversations” with themselves, which can help them sort out their feelings and reflect on their lives.

But How Can You Encourage Your Child To Keep To A Diary?

Get Creative

Although writing is encouraged, you can use other techniques intertwined. Younger children especially can be encouraged to draw pictures to represent their day, and even older children can incorporate a mixture of pictures and words to express their day and feelings. A vision board can be great for this!

Provide Them A Study Space

To help get your child into diary writing there are a few essentials you’ll need first, such as, a desk where they can relax and unwind before getting started with their diary entry, a lamp so that they can see what they are doing and most importantly a diary and a pen.

Make it Interesting

We’ve already mentioned giving them the tools they need to keep a diary, but it is advisable to get them an exciting diary and even an interesting pen. Having something a little different or even luxurious will help to feel like writing in their diary is something really special and exciting which will encourage them to do it more often.

Let Them Keep it Private

If you truly want to allow them to use their diary as an emotional release, it could be a good idea to let them keep it private so that they feel comfortable to do so. There is no need to read their diary unless you have genuine concerns for their wellbeing.

Use Books to Encourage Them

Reading books in which the main character keeps a diary can be encouraging to children; they may see it as inspiration for their own writing.

Use a Diary Yourself

You may not want to start an entire diary yourself, but it is always a good option for adults too. If not, have a diary to write other things in such as to-do lists or shopping lists; it just helps for children to see you doing it so they will want to copy.

Is A Diary Important?

Writing about our feelings and emotions can be really therapeutic and helpful in expressing them and the same goes for children. It provides a release for them at the end of the day and can then be kept as a way of looking back and seeing how far they’ve come.

To make your child’s diary writing a positive experience, allot a fixed time each day or week to write in the journal. Also, make sure your child notes the date and time on each page or for each entry.

A diary is a great way for your child to express their emotions and share all the activities they participate in and the ideas they have buzzing in their heads. Keeping a diary helps mould your child’s personality, so start when your child is young encouraging them to keep a diary.