Trial reportPloS one2026
Keep the bedtime story: A daily reading ritual improves empathy and creativity in children.
Trial report in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Creativity and empathy are interconnected skills that have shown concerning declines in young people, yet both can be enhanced through practice-based interventions. We examined whether a two-week nightly bedtime reading routine could improve empathy and creativity in children aged 6-8 (N = 38). Participants were randomly assigned to either read picture books straight through or pause at a conflict point to ask two reflection questions about characters' feelings and potential actions. Children completed measures of empathy (modified Interpersonal Reactivity Index) and creativity (Wallach-Kogan Alternative Uses Test) before and after the intervention. Both groups showed significant improvements in cognitive empathy, total empathy, creative fluency, and creative originality, regardless of the reflection condition. However, children in the pause group demonstrated significantly greater gains in creative fluency compared to the read-through group. Older children showed lower creative originality than younger children, with no sex differences observed. These findings suggest that consistent bedtime reading-with or without structured reflection-may enhance empathy and creativity in young children, providing families with an accessible intervention to counter societal declines in these critical skills.
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