We Get to Share the Gift of Storytelling to Children by Nereyda Martinez

With the use of more and more technology, I notice more and more eyes looking down on screens. I worry about what that means for our children and their interactions with other humans.

We know technology is not going anywhere and it will continue advancing. We also know that humans are not going anywhere. That’s good news.

Storytelling is a way that restores my faith in humanity for many reasons. When I think of children, in particular, I think of the ways that Storytelling can remind children of the magic of listening to someone without any distractions.

Giving children undivided attention is priceless. As adults, we know that. We appreciate that in others. Children not only desire more of it but it supports them with building relationships with others.

We can’t afford to lose this.

I like to think of how Storytelling will restore so much for our children. I think of how it will restore our ability to use our own imagination. I think of how it will restore our ability to learn valuable lessons from stories. I think of how it will bring us back to a time where oral stories were everything we had.

In my short time of storytelling, I have been able to share stories with my children. I have seen first-hand in my daughter, specifically, the impact that stories have made on her. She will recall stories almost word for word that I have told her. She will also create her own versions of them. She will ask for more.

Not only do we get to bond this way but she is also able to get lost in her own world bringing the story to life in her mind. She gets to receive the gift of Storytelling.

Whether you are a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, a relative, a friend, you get to have the responsibility of gifting Storytelling to children. You get to have the responsibility of gifting your undivided attention. You get to have the responsibility of gifting what our ancestors did for many, many years.

You get to. And you must.

All you need is a story, your own joy, and time. I think we can all manage to make that happen.

Because we’re not going anywhere and neither are our stories.

(The image at the top of the post can be found here, along with a very good article.)