Becoming a Radio Star at 86!

… and the benefits of children learning to listen.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin!

I grew up with Listen with Mother*. Apparently. I can’t say I have any vivid memories of the actual stories told by those soft BBC voices, but I’ll never forget that intro line!

I do remember the fun of twiddling the knobs on the clunky brown radio with the strange woven fabric front. I loved those mysterious whines and whistles and the occasional foreign voice you’d hear as you sent the needle speeding along the calibrated display searching for your favourite station.

And what about that weird green magic eye thing glowing at you from above the dials? I think it was something to do with the signal strength, but who knows. We were gathered in the kitchen on our uncomfortable wooden chairs to listen to stories, not marvel at the wonders of radio science.

And unlike the days of ear-piercing whistles as you searched the airwaves for a familiar voice on the radio, I can now tune in to Cotswold Radio with a few clicks on my keyboard. Heck- I can even listen in with one tap on my phone or ask my dear friend Alexa to ‘play Cotswolds Radio.’

However you chose to listen to the radio these days, Mum is thrilled to be adding to the summer entertainment of little adventurers everywhere by sharing her stories on air.

Who would have thought that decades later I’d be huddling around my computer speaker to listen to MY MOTHER read from her own book series?

Yes, it’s true, Jo Coker is now a radio star!

So as Mum makes the weekly trek through town to the radio station, I’ve been wondering about the whole process of listening to a story in this new technological age. With TV and the Internet and YouTube and TikTok are little ones still content to just sit and listen? Some quick research has convinced me there are indeed some lasting benefits to just listening… here’s what I learned:

-listening encourages children to use their imagination to picture the characters, the plot, and the setting as the story unfolds.

- listening is an important component of learning, so encouraging the development of good listening skills will help children learn, stay safe and be a better friend.

-listening helps to improve reading skills- kids will hear speech patterns and rhythms they might miss when looking at text on a page.

- hearing different voice patterns and expressions will help with their own speech development (just ask my kids about Mum “doing the voices” when reading Harry Potter 😊)

-listening helps with brain development by increasing the ability to focus, concentrate and learn comprehension skills while attempting to understand the story being read to them.  

-reading to younger children gives them access to stories and vocabulary beyond their current reading ability.

Yes, ‘listening with mother’ (or grandma) is still worthwhile…

For Mum, her recording sessions at the Cotswolds Radio station, housed in the historic Old Prison at the far end of Northleach, is yet another unexpected adventure to enjoy with her imaginary friend, Henry. As little adventurers enjoy a bedtime story or listen to Henry’s escapades on the radio, we hope these tales will spark their curiosity in the world outside their back door and inspire them to pull on their wellies and go hunting under hedgerows for some new friends!

So, tune in and listen with MY mother!

*Listen with Mother, a BBC children’s radio programme broadcast stories, songs and nursery rhymes from 1950-1982