Storytelling and Child Development: From Oral Traditions to AI Narratives
Introduction
Storytelling has been an essential part of childhood across all cultures and eras. From ancient folktales told around the fire to personalized digital bedtime stories generated by AI, narratives shape how children see themselves and the world. Psychologists, educators, anthropologists, and cultural scholars agree that stories are more than entertainment – they are powerful tools influencing children’s identity, beliefs, behavior, and emotional growth. This deep dive explores how both traditional storytelling (oral, familial, cultural) and modern digital/AI-based storytelling impact children’s development. We will examine positive effects – like empathy, moral understanding, and self-concept – as well as negative or cautionary effects – such as anxiety from frightening tales or biases from narrow representations. Throughout, we reference classical theorists (Jung, Piaget, Vygotsky, etc.) and modern research to highlight insights that apply to all children.
Traditional Storytelling: Cultural Roots and Personal Identity
For millennia, oral and family storytelling has been a primary vehicle for teaching and identity formation in children. Anthropologists note that storytelling “serves as [a] primary vehicle for transferring generational wisdom and historical memory, shaping a group’s identity and its understanding of the world”[1]. In other words, children absorb cultural values and norms through traditional tales, which helps them develop a sense of belonging in their community. Hearing stories about their family history or cultural heroes can bolster a child’s self-identity and pride in their heritage. Conversely, omission of a child’s culture in mainstream stories can leave them feeling invisible; when kids “fail to see themselves reflected in the stories they read, they may internalize feelings of exclusion…hindering their sense of belonging and self-worth”[2]. Thus, representation in stories is crucial – diverse characters and relatable role models help all children feel seen and develop confidence in who they are[2][3].
Classic scholars have long recognized the deep identity-shaping function of traditional stories. Carl Jung believed that myths and fairy tales contain archetypes from the collective unconscious – universal patterns like the Hero, the Shadow, the Wise Old Mentor – which resonate with a child’s psyche. Jungian psychologists such as Marie-Louise von Franz observed that fairy tales portray fundamental archetypes of the human mind, acting as “symbolic enactments of the psyche’s unconscious dynamics”[4]. For example, the peasant who defeats a witch or the fool who becomes a king are not just fanciful characters; they represent a child’s inner triumphs over fear or the discovery of self-worth[4]. Through such symbolic narratives, children subconsciously explore aspects of identity and the journey of growing up. Jung noted that many fairy tales mirror the process of individuation – the psychological journey of becoming a whole, self-actualized person[5]. In this way, traditional stories provide a psychological roadmap that guides children through universal human challenges.
Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory also highlights storytelling’s role in identity and learning. Vygotsky argued that higher mental functions develop through social interaction and cultural “tools” (language, symbols, stories) internalized by the child. An adult or elder telling a story acts as a more knowledgeable guide, helping the child bridge the gap between what they currently understand and a more mature worldview – what Vygotsky called the Zone of Proximal Development. In practice, group storytelling or story circles allow children to learn from peers and elders, fostering shared understanding. Such social storytelling “fosters cooperation and shared problem-solving” among children[6]. Moreover, using culturally relevant stories (e.g. folktales from the child’s own heritage) in education connects a child’s home identity with learning experiences[7]. This blend reinforces the child’s cultural identity while expanding their knowledge. In short, Vygotsky would emphasize that as children and adults co-construct stories together, children internalize cultural values and build their own identities in a social context.
Jean Piaget’s developmental theory reminds us that a child’s cognitive stage affects how they interpret stories. Younger children (in Piaget’s preoperational stage, ~2–7 years) often engage in magical thinking and may not fully distinguish fantasy from reality[8]. This is not necessarily harmful – it’s a natural part of development and imagination – but it suggests adults should provide guidance with fantastical stories. For example, a preschooler might truly believe their favorite superhero can fly or that monsters are real, because their ability to separate fact and fiction is still emerging[9]. Piaget noted that symbolic play and imaginative stories are valuable for children’s thinking at this stage: children “benefit from storytelling… and encouraging them to tell their own stories” to support language and symbolic development】[10]. Storytelling helps them practice using symbols (words, images) and develop cognition, even as they happily blur fantasy and reality in play. However, caregivers should strike a balance – enjoying imaginative tales while gently helping children understand real vs pretend** as they grow[11][8]. This balanced approach can prevent confusion without stifling the wonder of magical stories.
Shaping Beliefs and Values through Stories
One of storytelling’s most significant impacts is on children’s beliefs, morals, and worldview. Traditional stories – whether fables, fairy tales, religious parables, or family anecdotes – have long been used to impart lessons about right and wrong. Developmental psychologists observe that stories play a central role in children’s moral development, allowing kids to witness ethical dilemmas and outcomes in a safe context[12]. Young readers or listeners tend to side with the hero on an “epic journey,” feeling their disappointments and triumphs. They see that the protagonist, usually representing what is right and good, faces challenges but perseveres[12]. In classic children’s tales, “poetic justice” often prevails – good is rewarded and evil overcome – reinforcing a belief in fairness and virtue[12]. By grappling with a character’s difficult choices (“Should she leave her family? Was it the right thing to do?”), children practice ethical reasoning and form their own nascent beliefs about justice[13]. As one commentator put it, stories hold up a mirror to our values, helping kids “form our sense of what we believe is just and also what defines the dark side”[14]. In other words, through story dilemmas, children clarify their own beliefs about right, wrong, and the kind of person they want to be.
Cultural and religious narratives additionally shape children’s broader worldview or cosmology. Every culture has creation myths, hero legends, and folklore that explain “how the world works” and what that culture holds sacred. Listening to these tales in childhood helps anchor a child’s beliefs about their community and the larger world – who are our heroes and villains, what do we consider honorable behavior, what destiny might life hold? As an example, many Indigenous traditions use storytelling to teach children about living in harmony with nature and respecting ancestors[15]. Such stories encode spiritual beliefs and collective values. On a familial level, sharing family stories (like “When Grandpa was young…”) can instill beliefs about resilience, faith, or family identity. Research on family storytelling finds that exchanging these personal tales “illuminate[s] and combine[s]…experiences into a meaningful whole,” helping children draw beliefs about family values and identity from them[16][17].
Negative aspects: While storytelling is a powerful tool for teaching values, it can also transmit biased or harmful beliefs if not carefully curated. For instance, many old fairy tales or classic children’s books reflect dated stereotypes (gender roles, racial caricatures, etc.). If children only hear stories where princesses always need rescuing or where a certain group is always the villain, they may internalize these biased beliefs. A lack of diversity in story protagonists can inadvertently teach harmful worldviews – as the Los Angeles Public Library notes, children’s books that “fail to provide diverse and authentic representations…reinforce harmful stereotypes or omit entire groups from mainstream narratives”[3]. This can limit a child’s understanding of others and even distort their self-image. Modern educators emphasize providing inclusive stories to counteract this, noting that exposure to many cultures and perspectives through literature “expands a child’s view of the world” and fosters open-minded beliefs[18][19]. In summary, storytelling can powerfully shape beliefs – for better or worse. The key is ensuring children receive enriching, varied narratives that promote empathy and ethics rather than narrow prejudices.
Modeling Behavior and Social Skills
Stories do not just shape inward beliefs – they also influence outward behavior and social-emotional skills. Children often emulate characters they admire. After hearing a favorite story, it’s common to see kids reenacting scenarios in play, trying on the behaviors of heroes, villains, and everything in between. Psychologists view this as positive practice: by pretending to be brave knights, clever tricksters, or kind helpers, children experiment with different behaviors and their consequences. As one mother observed, “the forces of good and evil battle it out daily” in her living room as her son enthusiastically recreated Star Wars stories with toys[20]. Through this imaginative replay, he wasn’t just entertaining himself – he was reinventing the story, exploring themes of courage, friendship, and conflict resolution in a space he could control[20]. Such play indicates that children use story content to navigate real-life social situations and self-regulation. Indeed, research in social-emotional learning finds that engaging with story characters helps kids practice managing impulses and making decisions: a compelling tale might have the reader empathize with a hero’s “struggle to control his impulses,” which in turn is “valuable practice for all children who are developing their ability to manage themselves”[14].
Storytelling (whether reading aloud or oral narration) also provides a structured rehearsal for social skills. During story time, children must listen attentively, take turns to speak or ask questions, and sit cooperatively – all behaviors that carry over to group interactions[21]. Educators note that shared story sessions promote cooperative behavior; children learn patience and turn-taking as they wait for the next page or contribute to a discussion[21]. Stories often present conflicts or problems that need solving, and observing how characters resolve differences can teach kids real conflict-resolution strategies in a low-stakes way. For example, a story where friends argue and then apologize models how to handle disagreements. By seeing characters negotiate, share, or forgive, children pick up social problem-solving skills. Researchers highlight that many stories depict conflicts and their resolution, thereby teaching lessons about negotiation and peaceful problem-solving that children can apply in their own peer interactions[22]. Even classic fables like Aesop’s tales, where cooperation is rewarded (think of the fable of the dove and the ant helping each other), can increase a child’s likelihood to cooperate or help others after hearing them. In fact, experimental studies have found that storybooks can promote prosocial behaviors – but interestingly, those with human characters tend to be more effective than those with talking animals, perhaps because children apply the lessons more readily to real life when the story is realistic[23]. The takeaway is that stories are like simulations for social life: children watch (or read) how characters act and then imitate or internalize those behaviors.
On the flip side, parents and teachers must be mindful of negative behaviors that stories could inadvertently encourage. Just as a positive role model can inspire good behavior, a story character’s misbehavior might be copied if the child doesn’t understand the context. For instance, children who watch only the surface action of a violent superhero might start play-fighting aggressively without grasping the moral reasoning behind the hero’s actions. This is why discussion and guidance are important. Adults can ask open-ended questions like “Why do you think that character did that? What would you do?”[24] to help children reflect on the behavior in the story rather than mindlessly imitate it. There is also the issue of frightening content: while, as discussed earlier, some exposure to “scary” elements in fairy tales can help children learn to cope, too much gore or fear without reassurance can cause distress. Young kids with vivid imaginations may struggle with nightmares or anxiety if a story’s villain is too intense[25]. Thus, caregivers should ensure that behavior modeled in stories is age-appropriate and that children understand the context and consequences. A well-known example is the caution around older fairy tales or folktales with severe punishments (like villains being harmed in gruesome ways) – modern adaptations often soften these to avoid encouraging any cruel behavior or excessive fear in young listeners.
In sum, storytelling provides a rehearsal space for behavior. Positive stories can nurture sharing, kindness, and teamwork, whereas poorly chosen or unguided narratives might promote confusion or negative behaviors. With thoughtful mediation, the net effect is strongly positive: children who engage with stories develop better listening skills, empathy, and social understanding[26][27]. They see examples of social norms (e.g. “friends should help each other” or “lying causes trouble”) enacted in narrative form, which helps them grasp these concepts more deeply[28]. Indeed, “many stories have underlying themes that reflect societal values and norms,” and by talking about these themes, kids learn what behaviors are expected in society and why[28]. Storytelling, therefore, is a cornerstone of informal social education for children, equipping them with templates for how to act and interact.
Emotional Development and Resilience Through Story
Children’s emotional lives are profoundly touched by stories. Through narrative, kids safely explore a wide range of feelings – from joy and excitement to fear, anger, and sadness – and learn to understand and manage these emotions. Empathy is one of the clearest benefits: by putting themselves in a character’s shoes, children practice feeling what someone else feels. A well-crafted story “exposes children to diverse life situations and perspectives” and lets them imagine others’ emotions, thereby building empathy, “a cornerstone of healthy social interactions and relationships”[26][29]. For example, when a child hears about a character who is lonely or scared, the child might feel concerned and want to comfort them. This mirrors real-life empathy and can translate to kinder behavior with peers. Additionally, stories often name and validate various emotions (anger, jealousy, pride, etc.), which helps children develop an emotional vocabulary. By seeing characters experience feelings and then cope with them, children learn that emotions are normal and manageable. A storytelling session can even invite kids to share their own feelings: discussing “How do you think the character felt?” or “Has something ever made you feel the same way?” encourages children to articulate emotions and realize others feel them too[30].
Beyond empathy, emotional regulation and resilience are key areas where storytelling has impact. Life isn’t always smooth for story characters – they face challenges big and small. Watching how those challenges are overcome can bolster a child’s capacity to handle their own hurdles. Therapeutic storytelling or bibliotherapy is a technique often used by child psychologists: the practitioner selects or crafts a story that parallels the child’s real-life difficulty (such as starting school, dealing with a loss, or managing anger). Hearing about a character who faces and overcomes a similar problem can give the child hope and models of coping strategies. Indeed, a 2024 systematic review found that storytelling interventions significantly enhanced psychological resilience in children[31][32]. Storytelling provides “opportunities to share and develop narratives that help make sense of difficult experiences, find meaning in them, and build beliefs around our capacity to adapt well to challenging experiences”[32]. In simpler terms, stories help kids make meaning out of hardship – a crucial component of resilience. For instance, a child anxious about moving to a new city might gain courage from a story about a young adventurer who finds friends in a new land. By internalizing the narrative (“If they can do it, maybe I can too”), the child builds confidence to face real changes.
Classic scholars also recognized this emotional function of stories. Bruno Bettelheim, a child psychologist, famously argued in The Uses of Enchantment that fairy tales help children work through subconscious fears and conflicts. The dark woods, monsters, and trials in fairy tales, from a Freudian/Jungian view, symbolize internal struggles that children must confront as they mature. Exposure to scary or challenging content in stories can actually be healthy in moderation, as it allows children to face fear in a safe setting and see it resolved. A Jungian analyst, Walter Odajnyk, noted that even violence in a fairy tale (e.g. Bluebeard’s frightening narrative) can ultimately show that “the human psyche is not destroyed by violence, but instead evolved and matured from the lessons” the character learns[33]. The key is that the story provides a framework where evil is met and overcome, or at least understood. Children’s psyches are more resilient than we sometimes assume; when guided by a story, they can confront the idea that bad things happen, yet find meaning or growth through it[33]. In Hansel and Gretel, for example, the children endure a terrifying ordeal (a witch’s trap) but persevere, learning the life lesson that “not everything is as it seems” – a somewhat harsh reality about strangers and trust, but valuable for kids to learn in a symbolic way[34]. Thus, emotional fortitude is built as children realize, through stories, that challenges can be faced and feelings can be survived.
However, as with other domains, there are potential negative emotional impacts if storytelling is misused or poorly matched to a child. If a story is too frightening or too close to a child’s trauma without proper support, it could cause anxiety rather than relief. Young children, especially under age 7, have a hard time distinguishing fantasy and may believe a horror story could happen to them[9]. Parents have long known the phenomenon of nightmares sparked by scary stories or movies. As one article cautions, “stories that include scary or disturbing elements can cause unnecessary fear and anxiety” in young kids who can’t separate real from unreal[35]. Therefore, adults should curate emotional content: for a very sensitive child, maybe skip the goriest Grimm’s fairy tales or always provide reassurance (“Remember, it’s just pretend, and look – the characters find a way out in the end!”). Another risk in the emotional realm is that oversimplified stories might give unrealistic expectations. If every story a child hears has a tidy happy ending, the child might struggle when real life is more complicated. Some educators suggest balancing fantastical, happy-ending tales with more realistic stories so that children develop critical thinking and emotional realism[36]. A balanced “diet” of narrative – including non-fiction or fact-based stories alongside fantasy – can actually improve critical thinking, as kids learn to handle both imaginary and real-world scenarios[36][37]. The bottom line is that stories should ultimately be empowering and emotionally validating. When used thoughtfully, storytelling is “a powerful tool for nurturing social-emotional growth,” offering a platform for kids to express feelings and learn coping skills[30][38]. The positives of emotional development through storytelling – empathy, vocabulary for feelings, resilience, imagination – far outweigh the negatives, especially when adults provide context and comfort.
Modern Storytelling: Digital and AI Narratives
In today’s digital age, children’s storytelling has expanded beyond books and oral tales to include screen-based and AI-generated stories. Many parents now read e-books with interactive animations or ask voice assistants to tell personalized bedtime stories. Educational apps allow children to choose characters and make decisions that influence a story’s outcome. Even AI technologies (like large language models) can generate custom stories on demand, sometimes including the child as a character. These innovations raise new questions: Does personalized or digital storytelling amplify the positive effects we’ve discussed? Are there new downsides to consider (screen time concerns, reduced imaginative effort, etc.)? The emerging research suggests a mix of opportunities and cautions.
On the positive side, personalized storytelling – where a child sees themselves directly in the narrative – can significantly boost engagement and developmental benefits. When children hear a story featuring their own name, likeness, or life details, they tend to light up with excitement. One recent review notes that personalized storytelling fuels children’s imagination, improves emotional regulation, and supports growing social skills[39]. The child becomes emotionally invested in the tale because it is literally “their” story. Unlike passive TV watching, a personalized book or AI-generated story often makes the child an active participant: kids will talk back to the story, answer questions, or even guide the plot. Researchers observe that when reading a story that features them, children become active co-creators rather than passive listeners[40]. This heightened engagement can reinforce learning outcomes – for instance, children show stronger vocabulary retention and narrative recall with personalized books, likely because the personal connection focuses their attention[40]. Parents also report that kids exhibit “joyful participation” and richer language use when they see themselves as the hero of a tale[41]. In essence, personalization taps into the child’s ego in a healthy way: it’s fun and validating to be the hero, and that motivation can be channeled into literacy and socio-emotional growth.
Another advantage of modern interactive stories (whether personalized or not) is the potential for immediate feedback and adaptive learning. Digital storytelling platforms can ask the child questions (“What do you think happens next?”) and respond to their ideas, creating a two-way narrative experience. This aligns with educational best practices – similar to Vygotsky’s scaffolding, where an adult prompts and guides the child’s thinking. For example, AI-powered storytelling apps might adjust the story difficulty to the child’s age or ask emotion-focused questions (“How is the character feeling now?”) to spur empathy. Preliminary studies of such systems indicate they can “augment engagement, deepen narrative skills, and extend imaginative play” beyond what static stories achieve[42][43]. One LLM-based interactive tool, StoryMate, was noted to sustain children’s narrative engagement and even increase parent–child interaction by personalizing content and prompts[43]. This suggests that with thoughtful design, digital storytelling can combine the immersiveness of technology with the social interactivity of traditional storytelling (for instance, a parent and child can collaborate with an AI storyteller, each contributing to the tale). Additionally, personalized digital stories can be tailored to address a child’s individual emotional needs – much like a bespoke bibliotherapy. If a child is dealing with anxiety about school, an AI story could be prompted to feature a character like them successfully navigating the first day of school, providing both reassurance and practical coping ideas in narrative form.
Despite these promising benefits, modern storytelling mediums do introduce some concerns that need to be managed. A primary issue is excessive screen time or inappropriate content pacing, which can have negative effects on young children’s development. A 2023 review on children’s screen media usage found that “excessive screen use, fast-paced content, and unsupervised screen exposure are disruptive to a child’s development”[44]. In the context of storytelling, this means that if a child binge-watches story videos or uses a story app without any adult mediation, they might experience drawbacks like reduced attention span, over-stimulation, or simply miss out on the depth that comes from discussing and reflecting on a story. Not all digital stories are created equal – some are thoughtfully designed for learning, while others may be basically entertainment with little nutritive value. Therefore, experts recommend that digital story programs be adapted to the child’s cognitive abilities and encourage parent-child co-use[45]. For example, an interactive e-book that is age-appropriate and used as a shared activity with a parent can be very beneficial (combining the engagement of digital media with the emotional support and explanation from the parent). On the other hand, an app that simply flashes animations and sound effects rapidly may entertain but not educate, and could even impair a toddler’s self-regulation if it’s too overloading. In short, moderation and quality matter for digital storytelling: a tablet can never fully replace the warmth of a human storyteller, but it can complement it if used wisely.
Another potential downside to AI-generated or highly personalized stories is the loss of communal story experiences and broad perspective. If every child is only fed stories all about them, tailored perfectly to their preferences, they might miss out on the shared cultural narratives that bring people together. Part of the power of traditional storytelling is that it binds communities with “common values and strengthening the ties of common culture”[46] – everyone hears the same legend and thus shares a reference point and value system. Personalized storytelling tends to be a solo experience by design, which is wonderful for individual engagement but could reduce opportunities for children to learn about others. Additionally, some studies suggest that personalization alone doesn’t automatically yield better outcomes. In one experiment, giving children a “nominally personalized” book (just inserting their name) did not significantly increase comprehension or prosocial behavior compared to standard storybooks[47]. This implies that quality of content is still king – a poorly written story with a child’s name is less effective than a well-crafted story with generic characters. The best scenario might be blending both: high-quality stories that sometimes feature the child or their context, and other times expose them to completely new worlds and characters, thereby balancing self-oriented and other-oriented perspectives.
Lastly, we should consider imagination and attention in the digital era. Critics occasionally worry that heavily visual or interactive stories might do too much for the child, leaving less room for the child’s own imagination. For instance, a traditional book encourages a child to visualize scenes in their mind, whereas a flashy animated story app provides all the imagery (potentially limiting the child’s creative visualization). There is some merit to this concern; however, interactive digital stories can also inspire creativity in different ways – for example, by letting the child choose plot directions or create their own digital story with tools. Research on imaginative play shows that whether using physical toys or digital storytelling games, the key is the child’s active involvement. If the tech medium allows the child to make choices, role-play, or predict outcomes, it can still engage their imagination deeply. In fact, imaginative play and storytelling are highly synergistic: studies have found that children engaging in story-related pretend play (acting out scenes) show improved self-regulation and creative thinking[48][49]. Modern personalized stories often explicitly encourage this by providing follow-up prompts like “What do you think happens next?” or “Can you draw a new ending?”[50][51]. When adults guide children to extend digital stories into offline play or discussion, it ensures that technology is a springboard for imagination rather than a dead-end.
In summary, digital and AI storytelling represent a new chapter in the age-old human narrative tradition. They offer exciting possibilities: children can see themselves as heroes like never before, and stories can adapt dynamically to maximize learning and emotional comfort. Yet, the core principles remain much the same as with oral storytelling – children benefit most when story experiences are shared, discussed, and curated. As one commentary noted, “story time is more than just a quiet moment…it’s a powerful tool” for development, and actively engaging kids in the narrative (whether via turning pages or tapping a tablet) “can greatly aid in the development of crucial social skills” and emotional intelligence[52][30]. Thus, modern storytelling media should be embraced alongside traditional methods, not as replacements. A balance of books and bytes can ensure children get the best of both worlds.
Conclusion
From the fireside folktales of our ancestors to the AI-crafted adventures of today, storytelling remains a cornerstone of child development. It is through stories that children often first encounter the concepts of heroism, friendship, fear, love, and morality. Stories help children answer the fundamental question: Who am I, and what world do I belong to? By seeing reflections of themselves and others in narratives, children construct their identity and beliefs – they learn what is possible, what is right or wrong, and what to hope for. By following characters through challenges and triumphs, children shape their behavior and social skills – they practice empathy, cooperation, and problem-solving. And by emotionally investing in narratives, children nurture their emotional development – they face fears, learn to cope with feelings, and build resilience in the safety of “once upon a time.”
Our exploration found that classical theories still illuminate why stories are so powerful. Jung’s archetypes explain why certain tales resonate across cultures and generations – they speak to deep patterns in the human psyche[4]. Piaget’s stages remind us to match story content to a child’s developmental understanding, blending fantasy with gentle reality checks as needed[8]. Vygotsky’s emphasis on social interaction underscores the importance of storytelling as a shared experience, whether it’s a family bedtime story or a classroom read-aloud, where guidance and dialogue enrich the learning[53][54]. Modern research builds on these foundations, showing that stories can be harnessed in therapy to build resilience[32], in education to teach social-emotional skills[26][22], and even in technology to personalize learning[39][40].
In considering both positive and negative effects, one clear theme is balance and guidance. The positive effects of storytelling on children’s psychology are myriad: stronger empathy, richer imagination, moral reasoning, cultural awareness, language development, and emotional comfort, to name a few[55][26][32]. But to fully realize these benefits, adults should provide context and openness – encourage kids to ask questions, discuss story themes, and relate them to real life. At the same time, potential negative effects – confusion between fantasy and reality, anxiety from inappropriate content, reinforcement of stereotypes, or over-reliance on screens – can be mitigated by thoughtful adult involvement[11][2]. Simply put, storytelling is most powerful as an interactive, guided experience, not a one-way transmission. A parent’s reassurance of “it’s just a story” can dispel a nightmare. A teacher’s prompt “how would you feel in their place?” can spark empathy. A librarian’s effort to include diverse books can prevent a child from feeling invisible[2]. And a developer’s design that engages parent and child together in a story app can turn screen time into bonding time[45].
Finally, it’s worth recognizing that whether traditional or high-tech, stories fulfill an ancient human need. They provide what one writer called “the rush of joy and connection and desire for more” by allowing us to make meaning of our world[56]. In children, whose identities and understanding are just forming, this role is even more critical. Stories “bind society by reinforcing a set of common values”[46], but they also allow each child to daydream, to pretend, and to see beyond their immediate reality. In an increasingly complex and digital world, preserving the magic of storytelling – that personal touch, that creative spark – is vital. As evidence-backed as it is, storytelling is also art and magic. When children lose themselves in a tale, they often find themselves in life. Our task as adults is to harness this magic responsibly: to tell and show children stories that will help them grow into empathetic, confident, and emotionally healthy individuals. In the words of Dr. Seuss, a master storyteller for children: “Oh, the places you’ll go!” Indeed, through stories, children will go far – visiting imagined worlds, learning priceless lessons, and ultimately writing the story of their own life with a stronger sense of identity and wonder[57].
Sources:
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