7 Benefits of Family Storytelling

With the prevalence of smartphones and Internet connectivity, storytelling has become a neglected part of family life. We are now overwhelmed with more passive forms of entertainment, such as Netflix, video games, mobile games, Facebook, and web browsing. While the Internet is a good thing, it has intruded on what is supposed to be family time.

In her book Prediction Stories, the author Jacquelyn Hester Colleton-Akins recalls how she and her family would look forward to their father’s stories every Friday evening. Her mother would turn the TV off at noon and send the children out to play while she prepared lunch and dinner. Her father would be home from work at 7 p.m. Story time would begin after the family had dinner. The family looked forward to being entertained with a good story from him.

Bet you also have such fond memories of storytelling in your family. Do you still remember the stories that were told to you by your parents or grandparents? It is such a good feeling to recollect such good times – and good stories, isn’t it?

If you’re a parent, when was the last time you told stories to your children? Or do you ever have time to tell stories to your family?

Should we bring storytelling back into the family culture? We should. We know how important it is to tell stories to children of all ages, both made-up stories (such as fairy tales, legends, and fables) and real stories from your experience. We tell stories because:

• Storytelling builds language skills

Telling stories to your children will make them appreciate the beauty and power of language. It is a great way to help them learn and love a language, understand the relationship between words and their meaning, and expand their vocabulary, as they will pick up new words as they hear them. In the process, storytelling could encourage reading too.

• Storytelling boosts communication skills

Storytelling is one of the oldest and most powerful forms of communication known, and communication starts in the family. Storytelling, as a family routine, could motivate children to express themselves as it is the opportunity for them to communicate their thoughts and feelings while honing their language skills.  

• Storytelling promotes creativity and imagination

Made-up stories also encourage children to be creative and use their imagination to picture out the setting, the characters, and the plot as the story is being told to them. It allows them to become active participants in the story, rather than just being mere listeners.  

• Storytelling helps develop social skills

Through storytelling, children are encouraged to listen to their parents, and in the process, they learn to listen to others. As they grew up, they realize people are basically related through stories. Over time, storytelling becomes the key to maintaining family ties, as well as building relationships with other people.

• Storytelling creates empathy and understanding

Family storytelling opens up a child’s world to different stories, as well as different types of people who went through different situations in their lives. Real stories from your and other people’s experiences could help them develop empathy and understanding. Especially for older children, real stories provide them with insight into strategies to cope with family issues, such as financial difficulties, unemployment, and death in the family. 

• Storytelling encourages sharing

In families where storytelling is a regular family activity, children learn the value of sharing stories, not just food, toys, and possessions. Both parent and children – storyteller and listener – learn to share a piece of themselves through the power of a story. This family activity will translate to them sharing good books and stories with their peers and colleagues in the future.

• Storytelling promotes cultural understanding

Every culture on earth has a long, rich tradition of storytelling. What better way to promote cultural understating than through stories? Stories teach us not only about life or ourselves but also about other cultures. Storytelling helps children experience, understand, appreciate, and respect diverse cultures. Above all, it promotes a positive attitude toward people from different cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, as stories will reveal the commonalities between cultures around the world.

• Storytelling brings families together

What better way to bring the family together than through stories? For many families, storytelling is a way to share and preserve the memories of family members, as well as the histories of ancestors. Any time the family gathers is a perfect occasion to tell stories, be it Thanksgiving, Christmas, summer vacation, reunion, or Friday night. It is also the best time for children to learn from the experience and wisdom of their parents, their grandparents, and other elders in the family. Children love to hear their parents or other elder family members tell stories about themselves, especially when they were young since this helps them feel closer to their elders.   

Do you remember the stories that were told to you as a child? How did they impact you?