What 80 Fathers Taught a Researcher About Bedtime Stories

If you're raising a child across two or more languages and aren't sure which one to reach for at story time, this one's for you. Dr. Anna Marie Dillon spent years watching Emirati fathers read to their kids in Arabic, English, and everything in between, often switching mid-story without even realizing it. What she found flips the usual advice on its head: there's no "wrong" language for bonding over a book. Walk away with a clear understanding of the do’s and don’ts of family reading practices. LINKS TO ARTICLES: "Come back home early and read for us!" https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/... "The joy of reading" https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/... "Language usage during shared reading—family communication as implicit plurilingual family language policy" https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/... 0:00 Welcome and introduction 1:07 How a research call on fathers' wellbeing became a reading project 3:47 Storytelling vs reading books: the oral tradition in the UAE 5:34 The UAE's national push for literacy 7:20 How the study worked: reading workshops for Emirati fathers 9:41 Why read a book instead of telling a story? 11:42 How the fathers read with their children 14:49 Choosing the books: Arabic, English and bilingual 17:20 What fathers reported: the joy of reading 20:28 Which language did fathers read and talk in? 22:52 What reading a book adds to storytelling 25:20 Why some fathers read Arabic books in English 27:43 Reading for pleasure across the UAE today 30:04 Tips for fathers who want to start reading with their children 33:56 Is mixing languages confusing for children? 36:19 Choose books that resonate with you and your child 40:04 Who took part in the study, and why 42:44 What's next: school signage in the UAE and family reading in Slovenia 44:31 Why children need books in many languages ------------------------------------------- DOWNLOAD THE FULL PROGRAMME OF THE EVENT https://bit.ly/GMLEvent2026Prog ------------------------------------------- Learn more about "LES LANGUES DE CHEZ NOUS"/"OUR LOCAL LANGUAGES" the association we are supporting this year! Support them: https://buy.stripe.com/8x24gs4ts9Zg3e... Website: https://languesdecheznous.com/en LinkedIn:   / languesdecheznous   Contact: contact@languesdecheznous.com ----------------------------- CONNECT WITH YOSHITO DARMON-SHIMAMORI BOOKS EMPOWERING MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN In Search of the Lost Words - A Bilingual Time Travel Adventure https://amzn.eu/d/0b6a0zSy My Multilingual Diary (English version): https://amzn.eu/d/04q3ansb How to Become a Multilingual Superhero: https://amzn.eu/d/03ehCCsa Other languages: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Mr-Yo... The Parents' Guide to Raising Multi-literate Children https://amzn.eu/d/03gjqQ3J BOOK AN AUTHOR VISIT on the theme of "Multilingual Superpowers" and/or "Intercultural Communication". https://www.library4multilinguals.com... COPYRIGHT 2026 Yoshito Darmon-Shimamori