You’ll often read posts here that talk about “story.” As a writer, I see story everywhere I look. Why did that person react in that way? What’s the story? How can I solve this problem? Let me work through it in my head. How can I help kids develop empathy? What story will pique that in them?
It’s likely that story is not something you spend a lot of time considering each day. So let’s take a look at STORY now: What is it? Why does it matter? Why is it important for your child?
What is Story?
Another word for story is “narrative.” It’s the telling of an event with a beginning, middle, and end. Studies show that people retain information better when it is told as a story – not a list of facts. Studies also show that stories with Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) content help kids to develop empathy – the ability to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Story is what happens when you tell someone about your day. It’s what happens when you make up a series of events that happen in the life of a character. In short, story is the way we communicate – whether through cave paintings, a movie, or the written word: This happened, then this, and then this. Humans respond to story in a way that reaches deeper than other ways of communication.
Why Does Story Matter?
Story matters because the narrative of a story is a critical means of conveying information. I can tell you all the facts about a historical event, but if I can create a narrative with factual information, it will bring you into the event, and you’ll retain what I’ve said for far longer. When you ask your child what happened at school, and they say “nothing,” you know that isn’t the case. When you ask them to tell you about the best thing that happened that day, then probe for details, they are creating a narrative. The words they choose reflect their feelings about the event. They bring you into the event through story. The ability to engage someone else through narrative will grow into presentations that capture the audience, and the ability to make their needs known throughout life.
Why Is Story Important for Your Child?
Your child benefits from knowledge about story because it helps them to organize their thoughts. It helps them to synthesize information. It helps them to reach for the bigger picture. It fuels their curiosity. And, story is the means through which generations of children have learned about other points of view. Story is not a recap of a story. Story is not the result of an online search.
Story is experiencing what it felt like to be Ramona when her teacher told her to “wait here for the present,” meaning to sit there for the moment, while Ramona thought she was waiting for a gift. Story is the way Jess comes to terms with what happened after he chooses to go to the art museum without Leslie, and something terrible happens to her in his absence. Story is Zing, being the new kid who inadvertently breaks rules he doesn’t know about, while the other kids get annoyed until they realize he’s a terrific kid who is learning the rules through trial and error. Story is important for your child because it is a portal to another way of seeing the world.
Bottom Line
Whether you read to your child, they read to you, you listen in the car, you make it up together — a facility with story is an essential tool for your child’s ability to communicate with the world.