Nowadays, many young children spend several hours a day in front of screens on YouTube Kids or TikTok. Most of the content consists of short, fast-edited videos full of bright colors and sound effects that grab attention instantly. Many parents feel at ease because their children are entertained, quiet, and not fussy. But what has gradually disappeared from many homes is the “bedtime story” — when parents used to sit by the bed, telling stories to their children until their eyelids slowly closed. This change raises an important question: why do children still need to listen to stories when there are so many videos to choose from, which seem even more fun? The answer lies in the timeless storytelling benefits for children, which go far beyond entertainment and help shape their language, empathy, creativity, and connection with others.
Roots and Role of Storytelling in Human Culture
Before the advent of newspapers, television, or the internet, humans used storytelling as the primary way to pass down knowledge, experiences, and values from generation to generation. In Thailand, we have folk tales such as Pla Bu Thong, Sang Thong, and Buddhist Jataka tales like The Vessantara Jataka, told through the Thet Maha Chat sermons. In the West, the bedtime story became a family ritual, with parents telling tales like The Little Prince, Peter Pan, or Cinderella to send their children off to sleep.
Storytelling not only provides entertainment but also serves as a tool to teach moral values such as gratitude, honesty, and perseverance. Many folk tales are designed to be easy to remember, with rhythm and repetition, allowing children to absorb them unconsciously. Hearing a parent’s voice shift in tone with the emotions of the story also creates an emotional bond that audiobooks or pre-recorded videos cannot replicate.
Science and Research Confirming the Power of Storytelling
Many studies in neuroscience show that listening to stories has a highly positive effect on children’s brains. Dr. John Hutton from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center studied the brain development of children aged 3–5 while listening to stories and found strong activation in areas responsible for language processing, mental imagery, and narrative comprehension. In contrast, children watching videos showed high activation in the visual processing areas but not in the imagination-building regions of the brain, since the images were already provided.
Listening to stories is therefore a way to train “long-form attention,” where children must focus, listen to words, and create mental images from auditory information. This is different from watching fast-edited short clips, which train children to be accustomed to rapid scene changes. When faced with real-life situations that require time and patience, children may otherwise feel bored or easily frustrated.
Benefits of Storytelling: Why Children Still Need to Hear Stories
1. Language Development
Storytelling naturally expands a child’s vocabulary. They hear new words and learn to use a variety of sentence structures. A parent’s voice serves as a model for pronunciation, pauses, and emphasis—all of which are essential elements of effective speaking and communication.
2. Emotional Growth
Following a story helps children understand the feelings of characters—whether happiness, fear, sadness, or excitement. This process forms the foundation for developing empathy, or the ability to understand and share the feelings of others.
3. Social Skills
While listening to stories, children practice waiting their turn, listening attentively, and responding appropriately. Sharing their opinions or asking questions during storytelling also helps develop quality two-way communication.
4. Creativity
Listening to stories gives children space to create mental images from descriptions, practice connecting events, and solve problems through their own imagination.
How to Choose Stories Suitable for a Child’s Age and Situation
Choosing stories that match your child’s age and emotional state is important, because a good story should not only be entertaining but also align with the child’s developmental stage and interests at that age.
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Choose Stories by Age Group
- Ages 1–3: At this stage, children are learning basic vocabulary and starting to understand the meaning of things around them. Choose picture books with bright colors, short and concise plots, and repetitive sentences to make them easy to remember. Characters should be animals, toys, or familiar objects. The content should focus on warmth, safety, and happy endings to create emotional security.
- Ages 4–6: Children at this age can follow plots with multiple connected events. Choose stories with dialogue, adventures, and moral lessons woven in. Plots can be more complex, with problems and solutions to develop analytical thinking and problem-solving skills. Characters can have diverse personalities to help children understand differences among people in society.
2. Choose Stories Based on the Child’s Situation or Mood
On days when children feel tired, fussy, or anxious, parents can choose stories with a slow, calming rhythm and warm content to help them relax before bed. On important days—such as the first day of school—choose stories where characters face similar situations and overcome them successfully, giving the child encouragement, showing the storytelling benefits for children in building emotional resilience and a sense of connection.
3. Choose Stories That Include Moral Values and Learning
Stories are a powerful medium for instilling values and basic ideas. Parents should choose stories that embed virtues such as honesty, gratitude, kindness, or helping others. Select content aligned with Thai cultural values, such as folk tales or stories that include proverbs, idioms, and teachings children can apply in real life.
8 Techniques to Make Storytelling Fun for Your Child
No matter how good a story is, if the storytelling is dull, a child might only listen for a short while before losing focus. Parents should know techniques to make storytelling engaging, lively, and interactive, turning bedtime into a moment the whole family looks forward to.
1. Use varied voices that suit each character
Voice is key to creating atmosphere. Adjust your tone to match each character—use a deep voice for a giant, a high-pitched one for a little bird, or a soft whisper during mysterious scenes. Changing tones helps children distinguish characters easily and makes the story come alive.
2. Pause to create suspense
Sometimes, stopping for just 2–3 seconds during a tense moment will make your child listen more intently. This is like “silent music” in films that keeps viewers on edge. Pauses also give children time to think and imagine the scene more vividly.
3. Add sound effects
Sounds like “crash!” for something falling, “whoosh” for wind, or “rumble” for a hungry stomach can make a story more immersive. Children will feel like they’re part of the scene and may even laugh or imitate the sounds with you.
4. Use gestures and body language
Storytelling isn’t just about voice—use your hands to mimic a bird flying or stretch your neck like a giraffe. Young children enjoy watching these actions and may copy them, which not only holds their attention but also supports movement and motor skill development.
5. Let your child guess what happens next
Instead of telling the story straight through, pause and ask, “What do you think will happen next?” or “What would you do if you were the character?” This encourages prediction skills, logical thinking, and makes children feel more involved.
6. Use props
Having dolls or toys to represent characters makes it easier for children to connect with the story—like using a teddy bear for the main character or a blanket for the sea. Props also give children a chance to physically interact, stimulating multiple senses.
7. Adapt the story to your child’s world
Sometimes changing a character’s name to your child’s or adding events they’ve experienced—like going to the zoo or playing with friends—makes them more engaged, as they feel like part of the story.
8. Give your child a role in telling the story
Encourage your child to repeat recurring phrases or voice certain characters. This helps with language use, pronunciation, and builds confidence in speaking.
The Challenge for Digital-Age Parents
Limited time, fatigue, and the lure of video media make it easy for families to skip storytelling. The solution is to set a goal of 10–15 minutes of storytelling each day and make it a routine. Use audiobooks or ASMR bedtime stories on especially tired days—but don’t let them replace live storytelling, because the warmth of a parent’s voice and gaze is something no media can replicate.
The reason children still need to hear stories is that the storytelling benefits for children go far beyond fun—they nurture brain development, language skills, and imagination while strengthening the love and bond between parent and child. In an age dominated by video, embracing the storytelling benefits for children through a “7-day bedtime storytelling challenge” can spark noticeable changes—in your child’s smile and in the warmth within your family.
Originally published on theAsianparent Thailand
