Stories can transport us to new worlds, spark imagination and provide comfort during difficult times. For children spending long periods in hospital, they can also offer moments of connection, calm and normality when they are needed most.
This month, we’re shining a spotlight on Posey, one of Spread a Smile’s professional storytellers, who has been bringing stories, smiles and imagination to the children and families we support for almost four years.
Posey joined Spread a Smile in September 2022 and quickly found a charity whose mission perfectly aligned with her own passion for storytelling and childhood creativity.
“As a children’s storyteller, I am really passionate about the magic that stories and reading offer a child, and I love the Spread a Smile mission. It’s so simple and completely aligns with how I describe myself, which is ‘childlike, not childish’. Tapping into the joy of reading and sharing stories is something I have worked to do for nearly 30 years in a wide range of settings and roles. Offering entertainment to children in hospital is more than just giving a bit of fun – it’s the chance to let the power of imagination into your heart and mind.”
With an MA in Children’s Literature from Roehampton University and a career spanning libraries, schools and bookstores in both the UK and the United States, Posey has dedicated much of her professional life to helping children discover a love of books and stories.
Today, she delivers online storytimes, one-to-one virtual sessions and regular hospital visits for Spread a Smile, sharing stories with children of all ages. She also visits paediatric and neonatal intensive care units, where storytelling can provide valuable opportunities for connection between children and their families.
Posey has also played an important role in helping to develop Spread a Smile’s Intensive Care Library Project, which provides dedicated book libraries within NHS hospital partners for families with children receiving intensive and high dependency care.
The project aims to help families access the comfort and familiarity of reading together during long hospital stays, creating special moments of connection through stories.
“As one of the team who helped create the Intensive Care Library Project, it’s still such a privilege to walk onto a ward and see the bookcase full of books that I grew up with, or read to my own son, knowing that other parents have an easy and powerful way to connect with their own child. There’s no simpler way to express your love and connection with a baby or child than to read to them and share a story.”
Storytelling is increasingly recognised as an important part of supporting children’s emotional wellbeing in hospital. Research has shown that reading and storytelling can help reduce anxiety, fear and stress, while improving mood, sleep and overall wellbeing. Stories can also help children process difficult experiences, understand medical procedures and maintain a sense of childhood during treatment.
“There’s an increasing body of evidence demonstrating how storytelling and reading can have a significant positive impact on seriously ill children in hospital. Some studies have even found measurable biological benefits, such as lower stress hormone levels and increased feelings of comfort and connection, so when I say there’s science behind the power of listening to a story, it’s true.”
Throughout her time with Spread a Smile, Posey has seen first-hand the difference that stories can make to children and families.
“There’s a family who regularly join my virtual storytimes because they tell me how much my voice soothes and relaxes their daughter, which is a huge compliment for a child who lives primarily in a medical setting. Other parents share how much fun I am, and how their child now reads or asks for books to be read using my same silly voices and expressions. And of course, meeting brand new babies in the NICU and having the privilege of reading them their first-ever story just makes my heart sing.”
For Posey, being a storyteller at Spread a Smile is about far more than simply reading words on a page.
“Books is too obvious an answer, because my role with Spread a Smile is more than just reading words on a page – it’s bringing stories to life, to children who need them, in a way that provides them with exactly the right kind of entertainment. That’s what really sets Spread a Smile apart – everyone is so intuitive and focused on being exactly what a child or baby needs at a particular point in time. The work never feels like work – it’s just the very best way to try to make a child’s world a better place for even a few minutes.”
A huge thank you to Posey for helping children and families find comfort, connection and joy through the power of storytelling.
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