Why Do Children Like Stories?
Children love stories. Aside from stimulating their minds, stories also bring the children’s minds to faraway places and help them get to know different characters and people. It’s like expanding their experiences and exposing them to a wide variety of settings and environments.
Children and storytelling
Stories can enrich children’s everyday experiences. Because our real-world environment is limited, with several constraints such as time, space and resources), one easy way to expand that world is through fictional stories. These transcend the constraints and even the physical limitations of our real world.
Through stories, we further enrich our children’s experiences. They’re able to get to know several interesting characters and impossible worlds without leaving home.They’re also able to develop a deeper understanding about how other people think and feel (a practical way to further develop empathy).
Stories shape the children’s view of the world
Aside from stimulating the children’s minds and enriching their experiences, stories also help shape their view of the world. In most stories they will see that there are consequences whether the deed is good or bad. It’s often the case in stories where good deeds are rewarded and the bad ones are punished. Stories also often help children better understand how other people think and feel (including their motives on why characters acted in a certain way).
Although the stories children often hear are fictional and far from what happens in the real world, the lessons, especially about consequences and cause-effect relationships, remain true. Those lessons shape how they view the world and what to expect from the people around them. At an early age, children can even start to guess what other people think and how they’re making their own choices.
Stories and early childhood development
Stories also help children with their language, communication, creative and overall cognitive development. While listening to stories, they will start to create their own mental images about what is happening to the characters. This skill is crucial in problem solving as well as in anticipating the consequences of their actions (e.g. if I do A, B happens).
Stories go beyond entertainment, especially to young children. Stories actually aid children with their proper development by further practicing their language and creative abilities. As a result, it’s essential that they always hear stories whether at home or in the early learning centre.