Bonding Time: Storytelling

My 6-year- old son loves story telling. This is our bonding time during weekends when I have no work and would just stay in the house. I do find an hour or two to sit down with him and create a simple story. He loves to hear about my childhood experiences, how my husband and me met as well as finding out about him.

Recently I was puzzled when he ask me “ How did I met his father” It took me awhile to realize that I have once told him of a story that I’ve met his Dad when I arrived in the city way back 1989 and that he was the one whom I have asked some informations of the whereabouts of my mother who is working on the same building where he works. I would showed him an album where pictures of his Dad and me were engaged and tell short story in every picture.

Parents are encouraged to read their kids. Telling stories does not require special skills or a powerful imagination. It simply demands using your memory. I remember the teacher who was not hired as kindergarten teacher maybe due to her lack of memory and was not able to tell even a short story to the children (hehe..)

Children are hunger to hear about so many things about their parents. They want to hear also all our "firsts" like the first time we went to school, if we behave or always being scolded by our teachers due to our naughtiness.

Oral storytelling can really makes a difference. Start this early with your child. Here are some tips on storytelling that I have read in one of the articles in Parenting.

1. Keep the storyline simple and short
2. Use a lot of detail – “ I wore a red blouse”, etc..
3. Be prepared to answer questions. Children have lots of questions and we must be prepared to answer this.
4. Don’t worry about using words with which children are not familiar. Just be ready to explain this.
5. Always give a clear ending.
6. It doesn’t need to contain lesson. It’s enough for children to feel part of something real.
7. It needn’t be a big event- how you lost a favorite toy or handled a scary situation is great.
8. A photo album is a wonderful prop for getting started of your story telling.