Honey, let's read a story together; mothers' lived experiences of joint story-reading with their child: Insights from an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)

Mother–child dyads were invited via Instagram to read 10 children's short stories together over the course of 10 weeks. Stories were read to/with the child on a self-paced, once-weekly basis in the mother's presence, on WhatsApp and Skype. Children were elementary school age, that is, 7–11 years. Analysis of interview transcriptions with mothers indicated three major themes: empathy, improved filial relations and emotion regulation of parent. Mothers emerged more empathic and aware of their emotions 3–4 weeks into the intervention, with a better understanding of and grip on themselves. They also experienced better regulation of emotion and a closer filial connection with their child over this period. Limitations of the study and guidelines for future research are also discussed.