Being parents for 40 years and as grandparents for the last 14 years, my wife, Zarina & I found that sharing family storytelling with our four children and five grandchildren, provide a sense of identity through time, and help them understand who they are in this world. We have realized when grandparents share family stories during breakfast, luncheon or dinner, children tended to view their family as more stronger, their self-esteem was higher, they showed lower levels of anxiety or nervousness. They had fewer behavior problems, and they were better able to deal with the effects of stress. I've learned family reminiscing, when families talk about our past best experiences together, creates a shared history that helps maintain emotional bonds within our family.
Our eldest daughter, Izni Fauzan, revealed “My children love to hear family stories, for instance, of what ibu (mom), and walid (dad), grandma & grandpa did when they were young. Family storytelling instills great communication skills and a love of good listening. Telling stories is a great way to encourage language development in young children, which is especially valuable feedbacks for parents. They can learn from stories of life's more difficult moments.”
In support, our son-in-law, Mohd Faiz added, “Storytelling is also an important way to share our family's roots. By hearing a particular story, children may learn about various success stories of ethnicities, culture, religion, human values, traditions, countries giving them a broader understanding of the world.”
I agree with Jann & Faiz that children are never too young to begin hearing stories. Family storytelling can happen just about anytime and anywhere - from breakfast or dinner time conversations to rides home from the shopping malls. Weekends and school holidays are the perfect time to share family stories. I also encourage my children, grandkids, colleagues, relatives & friends to read my stories published by newswav.com in addition to my verbal storytelling.
Zulkifly Baharom (hajizul50@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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