Last year, G1 received a diary from his teacher as an “end of year” present. He’s been recording all sorts of things in it, including drawings from his dreams. I’ve always thought it’s nice to have a diary to look back and remember your thoughts from before if only to see how you’ve changed, but there are lots of terrific reasons to encourage your child to keep a diary:
- Journaling reduces stress. Mind chatter is a powerful stressor, stressor is a powerful health-buster, and journaling the chatter is a proven chatter-buster.
- Writing about problems gives our brains food for creative problem-solving.
- Keeping a daily diary is one of the best techniques for discovering patterns, particularly those that are self-defeating. For example, a diary kept over the course of several months will clearly show any reoccurring difficulties.
- Writing can help to clarify thoughts, emotions, and reactions to certain people or situations.
- Journaling can help clarify events, problems, or options. It can also help us decide on which action to take, or option to choose.
- A diary can also be a records of proud moments – accomplishments, moments we want to remember, lessons we’ve learned…
- Writing has mental health benefits
- Writing helps us learn to process and communicate complex ideas effectively
- Keeping a dream diary can help us develop dream lucidity
See also:
- Famous Writers on the Creative Benefits of Keeping a Diary
- Top 10 Benefits of Keeping a Diary
- Why Writing by Hand Helps You Learn
I figure that encouraging G1 to keep a diary is also a great way to get him to practice his handwriting and to foster his interest to become an author. So to encourage G1 to keep up his diary writing, we got new diaries for 2015…
Yup. I’m keeping one, too. Let’s see what ideas will emerge from this practice…
