The Value of Storytelling As Part of Education and Family Life
family life education
There are numerous writings of very reputable people talking about the many benefits of storytelling, not only in child education, but in family life. The greatest benefit of education, no doubt, is the ability that has a story to convey values. Every story, including tales, has a logical argument that unites the different parts, making them much easier to remember. In this way, our memory stores precisely because this plot is the glue of all these elements, and therefore the easiest way to access the remaining details of the story. And the moral is the best summary of a story, and so what better retains it. For example, one can forget what all details about the cicada and the ant, but do not forget that one was spending time while the other worked hard to store food.
Second, and closely related to the above, is the usefulness of stories to teach new things. Precisely because it is easier to recall the main story, and its importance as a link, the story allows easy access to other details. In fact, the stories have always been used to transmit ideas and knowledge, starting from Bible and Jesus of Nazareth, whose parables were a way to educate in a very practical style. To be creative and original every day, we must devote all our ability and attention, if only during that time, and that is something that children, accustomed to be the focus of their parents’ events, but no of their mind attention (too many parents have so many “brain noise” to park their concerns entirely, if only for a while) perceive with great gratitude and enthusiasm. And to customize a story (I always let them choose the main characters of the story), parents are forced to listen and take care for their children, so children feel really special. That emotional link is so strong that it is another important factor that facilitates memorization and assimilation as taught in these stories. I myself have discovered many times how my children were surprisingly recalling many low level details of stories I had told them long time ago, and never ever talking again about them.
Finally, telling stories without books nor pictures, with the room in darkness and children lying on their beds, as I like to do, is a very effective way to help counteract the lack of attention that many children are suffering nowadays, caused by the fact of living in a world with so many visual stimuli. I would not want to end without stressing advantages of personalizing stories (for those who think this seems too difficult to do it every day, check for our article about how to create stories in the main menu). A custom story is an incredibly effective tool to “analyze” children behaviors during the day. Taking advantage of the proximity in time and the freshness of their memories about what happened, through the story, we can praise what they have done well, or censor and try to change what they did not do so well. In this very emotional moment, children are so accessible, that a story that exemplifies clearly the attitude we like is much more effective than several hours of sermons and good words.
Make Family Life Easier – Create Routines For Your Children
Family life can be very hectic. Establishing routines (simple processes) can help bring some badly needed order into a harried daily life; and it can be a good start for teaching your child about responsibility.
Routines are processes to accomplish the mundane tasks of each day or week. I have another article about “Controlling Acute Stress” by creating routines with the entire family; but for this article, I just want to address routines that you might want to establish with a small child.
Remember to get your child’s input. This list will vary considerably with the age of the child, but may include: getting dressed in the morning, putting jammies away, making the bed, combing hair, brushing teeth, eating breakfast, putting dishes in dishwasher, picking up toys, doing school work, family chores, etc. If your child is in school, this list isn’t even close to complete. Post the entire list on the fridge.
Work with morning routines first because how ever the morning goes, so goes the day. Having a peaceful and effective process for everyone to get ready in the morning is worth whatever effort it takes to get it established as “normal morning routine.”
Start with just one or two items from the list (or more depending on the age of your child), and use the “looks like/sounds like” method to act out what your child should do. After you have shown your child what to do, practice the behavior with your child several times. If the time it takes your child to do a task is important, practice that as well.
As your child masters those first morning routines–be certain you are always complimenting their work and expressing your appreciation for how much help is being provided–choose a couple more from that original list and duplicate the process: “looks like/sounds like,” practice several times, put into practice. If your child isn’t doing something correctly, don’t criticize. Once your child has mastered the morning routines that are important to you, enjoy your more peaceful mornings for a while.
Repeat what you did before:
(1) discuss with your child what needs to be done each evening,
(2) make a list and post it,
(3) choose 1 to 3 tasks to demonstrate with “looks like/sounds like,”
(4) practice several times (don’t forget timing if that is important),
(5) choose a couple more and repeat.
We tend to think of routines being about “what to do,” but routines can and should include behavior as well. The family needs to have a routine of politeness toward each other. Saying “please,” ” thank you,” and “you’re welcome” should be normal expected behavior. If your have several children, you will have to choose between doing this one at a time or all at the same time. You will also discover that if you and your spouse create routines for the tasks that the children can’t do, you will find a positive difference in your home life and there might actually be some time for playing with the children!
