Sharing stories with children

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin…

Vera Waters has worked in the Health Service, and been a counselling consultant and adviser to the police force. Now a life coach and inspirational speaker, she has written four books and two CDs in which she encourages her readers to find the confidence to cope with whatever life has to offer. Below, Vera provides some advice on storytelling.

Sharing a story with a child is great fun for both of you. Here are some tips to help you:

We all need stories in this busy, sometimes confusing world. But perhaps it’s a long time since you told a story or shared a book with a child. You might feel a little out of touch, or lacking in confidence.

Take heart! Children love stories. Whether you read or tell a story to a child, you help that small person to grow and develop. And you help them to escape into another world… their own imagination. So a storyteller plays a very important role in a child’s life.

Reading a story

Reading from a book is a great place to start. The story’s there for you, and it will probably have pictures to talk about. As you grow in confidence, you might start asking questions:

‘What do you think happened next?’

‘Do you know anybody like that?’

‘What would you do?’

Some children love to be involved and be asked their opinion. Others prefer just to hear the story. You’ll soon get to know what your audience likes!

Telling tales

It’s easy to assume that only writers can make up stories; that telling stories is more difficult than reading them. But in fact you have lots of tales to tell.

Your whole life has been a story, from the day you were born. These accounts are very interesting to children. As long as you don’t dwell on any sad experiences, you’ll find children will ask question after question to find out more about your life.

Things that you took for granted as you grew up are quite mysterious to them. They’ll want to know more. Of course, you don’t just have to tell stories about things that happened in the past. Everything you do, everything you see, can be used to bring a story to life.