Historically, there has never been a time so badly cracked up. The maximum conflict that we notice today is not in politics or economics, but it is in the relationships in each home between parents and their children.

Parents consider their duties towards their children are only to feed, clothe and groom them. And to help them with their education. However, all creatures in this world demand some emotional contentment to thrive and grow healthily and intelligently. Man, the most sensitive animal in the Universe, needs a great deal of personal attention, especially in his early years.

The Art of Storytelling

Storytelling is an art that should be cultivated by all conscientious parents. There is a treasure of joy for the storyteller, and a heritage of good that the young and innocent listeners can gain from a story that is well told to them. Not only will children’s ability to talk incoherent and meaningful ways improve, but the practice teaches them the art of listening, an invaluable gift in education and for success in the wider world.

Tips on Storytelling:

Select the Best Stories

Any story will not do. Children must be exposed to the right type of stories, which must ring true and interesting to the children’s minds. The stories of the Puranas, carefully selected, can be very effective. Choose the story based on what you would like to achieve – to inspire heroism, to generate confidence, to evoke generosity or to bring out a spirit of forgiveness.

Animate the Story

Children have boundless energy, and to keep physically quiet for even a short interval is to them unnatural, insufferable. And yet, I have kept them with me for hours, quieter than the elders sometimes. The secret is to animate the story. Let them dream of impossible distances, endless exertions, noble actions and heroic deeds.

Feel the Story

You, as the story-teller, must feel the story. Give it life, enliven it by your sincerity and enthusiasm, your cheer and pleasure in narrating it to the children. These are contagious emotions – for both you and the child.

Become a Child

Be natural and do not show the vanity of being an adult. Be yourself a child. They will come to recognize the child in you and the walls that separate the adult from the child will crumble down.

Pitfalls to Avoid:

Avoid these pitfalls and you will find your children’s faces shining with fresh surprise and joy.

Long Descriptions

Avoid long descriptions and wordy narrations. Children are, by their very nature, fancifully creative and our words should only stimulate – not clog – their minds with details.

Negativity

Avoid or quickly glide over situations describing lack of discipline, cruelty, disobedience etc in the stories. Let not the negative values even unintentionally take root in the children’s hearts.

Scientific analysis

Do not be overly scientific. No doubt children must be introduced to the mysteries of the universe and the glories of science. But let not the story be loaded with these. Children are thrilled with fantasy and should be allowed to remain in this divine enchantment.

Preaching

Lastly, the golden rule is ‘Don’t preach, but portray’. Fully narrate. Clearly describe. Vividly portray. Eloquently tell. But never try to preach a moral. The very story will itself instill the great truths and higher values of life.

Tell, never teach, a story, and your children will learn more from the story and from you than what could ever be taught directly.

Here is a Story you can tell…

The Rat Who Forgot

Once upon a time, there was a Guru who was sitting outside his little cave and he was looking at the beauty of the sky and contemplating on the Lord who created it all. Suddenly something fell right in front of him. He looked and it was a small rat. He wondered how can a rat fall from the sky? So he asked, “Rat, what happened?”

The rat was trembling and said, “A bird caught me, he tried to eat me and then he took me in his beak and started flying. Luckily I fell down….!” So the Guru said, “Don’t fear anymore. You stay with me in my cave, I will look after you. Thereafter, every day, he gave him a little food and some sugar, and the rat slowly became fatter and fatter.

One day the rat went out to play but suddenly it ran inside to the Guru and sat there shivering… from the tip of his nose to his feet. The Guru said, “What is wrong, why are you afraid?” The rat said, “A cat has come here!” The Guru responded, “Don’t worry. I will make you a cat.” And he closed his eyes and said a mantra. That rat became a big tall cat and when he went out of the cave, the other cat ran away.

The cat remained in the cave with the master and the master started giving him milk. Once again, after a few days the cat ran to the master and sat near him trembling. “Cat, now what happened?” asked the Guru. The cat said, “Save me!” “Why?” asked the Guru. The cat replied, “A dog has come here!”

The Guru said: “Don’t worry I will make you a big Alsatian”. And that cat became an Alsatian dog. The tall dog went outside and the little dog got up, stuck its tail between the legs and walked meekly away. The Alsatian dog was happy.

Now the Guru started feeding the dog. A little food, sugar or milk would not do, and so he had to cook food for the dog. After some days, the dog came back, shivering and crying. The Guru said: “Keep quiet. What is the matter?” The dog replied, “I saw a tiger, a small tiger has come from the forest! I will be eaten up!”

The Guru reassured him, “Don’t worry I will make you a lion.” And the dog became a lion with a huge mane, no longer afraid of the tiger. The lion then came back, and sat in front of the teacher. He suddenly thought, why not eat the teacher as the lion wanted to eat meat, but the Guru had never given him meat, since he never ate meat himself. The lion forgot that in truth it was only a rat. It was only by the blessings of the Guru that he had become a lion.

The Guru called the lion to sit down to do bhajans with him. The lion said: “Why should I do this? I am not doing it.” The Guru said, “Do it!” The lion said: “What are you doing, you are only a man! I AM A LION. I can …”

And as the lion came forward to attack the Guru, the Guru smiled and said: “Oh, I see, you have forgotten everything, OK …”, and immediately the lion turned into a little, shivering rat. Just as he had come to the Guru the first day.

The story is one that we must learn from. Even though, by the blessings of our teachers and parents, we grow up and become big children, never forget that we were little children at the beginning, looked after and loved by our parents. If we forget that, we may end up back in the same place – helpless and sorry. As we grow up, we must remember this, and look after, serve and respect our parents.