Parents Need To Know, Here's How To Educate Children Through Fairy Tales

Illustration (Picsea/Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Fairy tales are one of the ways that parents can educate their children. Telling stories to children is the same as teaching them to think critically and creatively. Every story that is read will bring his imagination wider and dig his curiosity deeper.

To that end, in order to celebrate National Children's Day 2021, the Abhipraya Insan Cendekia Indonesia Foundation (YAICI) held a webinar on Friday, July 30 with the theme: "Through fairy tales, parents are educated, children's rights to be healthy and play happy are fulfilled".

In the webinar, it is stated that fairy tales are not only a medium of entertainment but also as a place to stimulate the brain to grow smarter.

"The benefits of storytelling are not only for learning communication, (but also) stimulating creativity, increasing knowledge, and also developing emotional intelligence," said child psychologist Dr. Seto Mulyadi, S.Psi., M.Sc.

Fig: Screenshot of the Webinar by YAICI

So that children can benefit from fairy tales, parents must convey the tale well. Dr. Seto Mulyadi said that the main key in storytelling for children is speaking fluently. This can be obtained by practicing speaking skills.

In addition, parents must also be good at animating expressions, so they are not flat. Because, if fairy tales are told flatly, it is likely that children will feel bored when they hear fairy tales. Through expression, a lively, warm and intimate and communicative atmosphere will be created. You can also play a tune or movement when you ask your child to tell a story to make him feel embraced by the storyteller.

However, the ability to speak and expression alone is not enough. There must be dialogue involving children. Avoid monologue situations. Parents can invite children to guess the storyline or ask questions to children. If using media such as dolls, parents can also invite children to shake hands with characters in fairy tales visualized with dolls, for example. By involving the child, he will feel as a unit in the fairy tale that is read.