I must confess…lately I’ve been lazy when it comes to tell bedtime stories.
I use to tell a story every night to my son and daughter but lately, with the hurry to go to bed, with our conversations (that are also important) bedtime story has gone to a second third plan. I confess this is something I’ve been thinking about lately because I’m afraid my kids will lose the “reading feature” we should all have.
For some kids reading can be a natural feature but for others reading is something that has to be learned-to-like. Not reading to my kids might transmit a negative idea and although they see me reading all the time, reading a bedtime story is something experts say: it’s a “must”, it’s essential to read to our sons and daughters.
I’ve done a little research about telling a story and what I can do to make my kids wanting more stories and I come up with a few important points:
Have Fun: The main objective of telling a story is to have fun, create a bound between the parent and the child.
Learn to tell a story: For a child, a parent that is able to tell a story without a book is the best parent. The story has to have a meaning and we can’t hesitate while we tell it. The child must be aware that the parent knows the story as well as the characters he’s/she’s talking about.
Repeat as per request: Anticipating what is going to happen is good for the child development. We should keep the story for how long the child requests it but we can add small details that will keep the story interesting to the child.
Know how to choose a story: Be aware of the child’s age when choosing a story. Most stories have details that will only be understood by the child years later but that’s a good think as long as the story adds something to the child’s life.
Forget the story moral: Don’t resume the story in one sentence when finishing reading it. The message should be transmitted on the story context, not at the end. If the child doesn’t understand the story maybe it’s not an appropriate story for his/her age. Years later, without notice, they will understand it for sure.
Read before telling: Read the story before you tell it to the child, this way you already have the idea when you should change your voice, make a pause, raise or lower your voice. Remember, if you make a special voice for each character you have to keep that until the end of the story.
Of course there are other important points I must be missing here and therefore I’m willing to receive your feedback. Please take a few seconds and answer to my poll:
Leave me a comment if you would like to add suggestions/opinions regarding “Telling a Story Time”, I’ll post them on a different post in a few days.
