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Storytelling plays a crucial role in the overall development of a child. It helps in inculcating a child with intelligence, wisdom and emotional growth.
Most of us have either grown up in joint families or in comparatively larger families, where the number of family members was more. In all our growing up years, I have seen my relatives visiting us every now and then. With those visits, came a lot of stories. Bua(Father’s Sister) used to tell the story of dogs, cats and different animals. Mausi(Mom’s Sister) used to tell about Alibaba. In short, every mouth used to tell the story of a different genre and taste.
Nowadays we come across families which are either nuclear or small in size. Buas and Mausis along with other relatives are staying far away. The visits have reduced to once or twice a year. With all this change in family structure, the kids are interacting most of the times with their parents, teachers and friends. So, in all this scenario, they are missing out on the interesting story sessions.
No doubt, as a parent, we have a tremendous amount of pressure on us. There are a lot of complexities related to nuclear families and long working hours. In all this, we have very less time left for our families and personal work.
In case I ask you, how many times you have indulged in storytelling with your child, what will be your answer? If you fall short of fingertips while counting, it means you are having a good track record. However, if it is not, you surely need to cut some time out of your schedule to devote to this.
If you ask me, why? I have a never-ending list ready for you.
Storytelling plays an important and crucial role in the overall development of a child. It helps in inculcating a child with intelligence, wisdom and emotional growth. Children get to know about the culture with which they belong. It fills them with curiosity and urges to know more. They can link stories with real-life experiences and act accordingly. It makes them socially and emotionally sensitive.
Let me share one incident with you from my personal experience. My younger son is two years old and I have the habit of telling stories to him since he was 2-3 months old. Since that time he is very fond of the story about “Greedy Dog”. I am sure back then he didn’t understand a word but he learnt how to lie down patiently and listen. So this habit has become so integral part of his schedule that every night before sleeping he asks me to tell him a story about the “doggie”. In addition to that in between, he continues the story by himself and responds by making relevant noises like a barking dog. Nowadays, whenever he listens to a barking or weeping dog, he tells me, “Mamma, doggie, Roti dedo”, which means mom give Roti to the dog as he is crying/barking with hunger. It amazes me how a two-year-old can interpret things happening around him and express himself so well.
So, if you are not doing it already, start with it now, how?
Storytelling is not any difficult rocket science. It is as simple as talking to someone. However, what you need to look after is the content you are delivering. If you don’t have any books, it’s alright. You can share your life experiences. Your experiences can teach a lot of things to your children. Along with this, the child feels connected as they get to know about the childhood of their parents, which makes them more secure and comfortable.
Storytelling is definitely a wonderful tool for kids to improve their patience as well as their listening and verbal abilities. It broadens their horizons and imagination. They are always game for new experiences.
Few points you should remember if you are new to it:
Do not let your children miss out on this simple but important childhood memory. Instead of cartoons on T.V and games on phones, give them the gift of storytelling which they will remember and cherish for their entire life. Let’s start it today.
Happy Storytelling. Don’t forget to share your interesting stories and techniques with me.
Image via Pixabay
Postgraduate in CSE with 10 years experience in academics and corporate industry. On break after birth of my second kid. I love teaching,cooking,reading. Have recently discovered my love for writing articles based on read more...
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When I was in Grade 10, I flunked my first preliminary examination in Mathematics. My mother was in a panic. An aunt recommended the Maths classes conducted by the Maths sir she knew personally. It was a much sought-after class, one of those classes that you signed up for when you were in the ninth grade itself back then, all those decades ago. My aunt kindly requested him to take me on in the middle of the term, despite my marks in the subject, and he did so as a favour.
Math had always been a nightmare. In retrospect, I wonder why I was always so terrified of math. I’ve concluded it is because I am a head in the cloud person and the rigor of the step by step process in math made me lose track of what needed to be done before I was halfway through. In today’s world, I would have most probably been diagnosed as attention deficit. Back then we had no such definitions, no such categorisations. Back then we were just bright sparks or dim.
Pathaan touted as SRK’s comeback has been in the news for mixed reasons. Right from the hype around SRK’s comeback and special mentions his body contours; yet I can't watch it!
The movie touted as SRK’s comeback has been in the news for mixed reasons. Right from the hype around the movie being SRK’s comeback and special mentions his body contours and even more than the female lead!
For me, it’s not about Deepika’s bikini colour or was-it-needed skin show. It’s about meaningful content that I find is missing big time. Not just this movie, but a spate of cringe-worthy narratives passed off as ‘movies’ in the recent past. I feel insulted, and not because I am a devoutly religious person or a hardcore feminist, but because I feel the content insults my intelligence.
But before everything else, I am a 90s kid who in the case of movies (and maybe more) is stuck in time as it wrapped around me then and the gamut has too hard an exterior for me to crack it open!
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