You are what you read...

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, one of the most admirable characters in literature

A study recently published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology confirms what parents and educators have know for centuries: you are deeply shaped by the books you read. The study does shed light on the psychological changes that happen when one is reading and being throughly immersed in the world of a fictional character. Turns out your behavior and thought process will mimic that of your favorite characters! The study also suggests that the more strongly you identify with a character, the more your behavior will change. One of the researches stated that the change may even be longterm:  “If you’ve got a deep connection with the characters, it can have a lasting impact, it can inspire you to re-read something. And then the impact can be strengthened over time.” 


In many ways I am sure that this is not surprising to anyone but I do think it can give one pause. Just as watching television can chip away at our contentment the books we read can be negative influences in our lives. As adults we should also be modeling good choices to the children in our lives. Our reading can reflect the baser aspects of our fallen nature, or it can serve to elevate our thoughts and turn us toward that which is good, true, and beautiful. 

As we have talked so much about raising readers, we also want to ensure that our children love reading those books that emulate the character traits we would like to see in their lives. It isn't enough to say "At least she's reading." We need to be aware of what she's reading. Now, as with all things, there is something to be said for moderation. I went through a stage in my tween years where I really enjoyed reading books from The Babysitter's Club. My mom could not understand the appeal but she didn't forbid me to read them. And I think that was a wise decision. She provided a compromise in which for each classic or historical title I read, I was allowed one Babysitter's Club. This was perfect for me. In my young mind there was nothing morally corrupting about The Babysitter's Club, but my mom knew that a steady diet of books about semi-discontented teen girls who were obsessed with clothing and babysitting jobs may lead to similar behavior in me. By ensuring that I was also exposed to books of a loftier morality, she not only mitigated the possible negative effects of my guilty pleasure, she saw to it that my forming literary tastes were not simply content to settle for mind candy. 

A broad exposure to great literature will also provide your children with a standard by which they can judge the characters they encounter in the books they read. The diversity of people I encountered in my reading made it more difficult to identify with any of the characters from The Babysitter's Club. After reading about the courageous Kit in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Claudia's scrunchy and candy obsessions started to seem a little silly. As a teen, having encountered the great wisdom of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Elinor Dashwood's selflessness in Sense and Sensibility, and the real and tragic Ann Frank, I was less liable to be sucked in to Holden Caulfield's self-indulgent world in Catcher in the Rye. 

There are so many wonderful characters, real and fictional, in the world of literature who are worthy of emulation. What characters have you deeply identified with? Who would you like to introduce your children to? Are there books you just cannot wait to give to your children but are waiting until they are old enough? I would love to hear from you!

And if you're looking for some direction, check out these resources:

Books that Build Character by William Kilpatrick and Gregory and Suzanne Wolfe

Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson

Teaching Character through Literature for Primary Grades

Teaching Character through Literature for Intermediate Grades

Cultivating Contentment

"As to that leisure evening of life, I must say that I do not want it. I can conceive of no contentment of which toil is not to be the immediate parent." 

Anthony Trollope 

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to an economics podcast that I enjoy when one of the commentators mentioned that people who do not watch TV tend to buy less stuff! That caught my attention and since then, I have not been able to get that little tidbit out of my head. The commentator went on to say that people who have gotten rid of their televisions are generally happier! Naturally I had to do some research! On the blog we've talked a lot about the importance of reading aloud, cultivating a desire in your children to read, and even the fact that boredom is good for youngsters. Watching television has come up in our discussion of boy's social development, and the natural conclusion that the more time is spent watching TV, the less time children have to read and play.

The soundbite from my podcast presented a new angle to me in that watching television can carve away at our contentment. While there have been many studies on the effect of watching television on the intellectual development of children, I only came across a few that related to measuring the effect on the child consumer's purchasing habits. One dealt almost exclusively with a child's exposure to advertisements. It's findings were that children are susceptible to the barrage of adverts seen while watching TV and their behavior could be affected and shaped by such exposure. Another study found that the more time children spent watching TV the more they asked for products they saw on TV. Boys seemed to be more persistent than girls in making repeated requests. Now, if having a child always pestering you to buy something doesn't reduce your contentment, I don't know what will!

All of this is very interesting and the research is developing as academics latch on to a phenomenon that, until about ten years ago, was researched almost entirely by marketers. What I find more interesting and thought provoking is the idea that watching television creates discontent. I think that Anthony Trollope puts a fine point on the foundation of contentment in the quote above. It is the product of work.

Television takes this idea and tries to confound it. Children are told that they will be happy if they just buy the latest toy, gizmo, snack. Having this message reinforced on a daily basis sets boys and girls up for a lifetime of discontent. The studies show that the more television a child watches the more persistent he or she is in their requests. It may be good for the economy to create people whose happiness depends on their latest purchase, but it does nothing for the soul of our culture.

The second way that television steals our contentment is in the way it laps up our time. No one feels a sense of accomplishment when they finish watching an hour or two of television. I know I often feel more restless than when I started that TV show.

Remember as a child the sense of wellbeing that followed a day of hard play, or the construction of a fort, or the capture of a lizard? How do you feel when you turn that last page on a great book? These are essential experiences for children and are so important in cultivating that sense of self-possession that will lead to contentment. I believe reading is also an essential part of that, in that if we feed our children a steady diet of great literature, their souls will be nourished and will be able to resist the consumeristic values of our time and culture.

I know that in many ways I am preaching to the choir in this post, but I have been struck recently with the importance of cultivating a sense of contentment, especially in the face of a world that is continually trying to tear it down. I'm not talking about taking on a lackadaisical "it's all cool" mentality but equipping your children to grow up with the understanding that a good and happy life is not the product of the things we buy, but the result of a good character and a generous life.

So, here's to long summer days full of running around, working together, playing and exploring, and, of course, reading! I am curious as to how you limit your child's exposure to advertising, television, etc. I do believe that there is a time and place for watching TV and seeing movies, but I am going to be increasingly on-guard in my own life, looking out for that insidious root of discontent that can so easily take hold.

Need some suggestions for summer reading? Check out our blog entries on reading aloud: Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV.