The plain fact that stories reliably capture the attention of children creates a unique and significant opportunity for parents. Whereas youngsters often respond reluctantly if not outright rebelliously to direct parental instructions on how to behave, those same children will welcome and absorb the very same ideas when interwoven through a story.
As a parent, which scenario do you prefer? To relate instructions to a child whose expression dares, “Whatever-you’re-selling-I’m-not-buying-it!” Or to offer those same instructions to a child whose expression says, “Really? Tell me more. Now.”
While we can agree that stories are a powerful conduit, it’s also clear that in and of themselves, stories do not necessarily deliver positive messages. In fact, stories can just as easily deliver negative messages, and often do. Imagine that a story is a form of transportation, a kind of express vehicle. Its contents may be fresh crispy apples, or its contents may be cartons of explosives. The contents that are loaded onto the “storytelling express at the outset of its journey will determine what’s received at its destination. As a parent, your role is to load worthwhile messages onto your storytelling express and send it to its destination – the heart of your child.