Did you know that sharing family stories with your kids helps them build confidence and develop a stronger sense of self? When kids hear stories from their parents and grandparents about difficulties they’ve faced and have overcome, it reinforces their sense of determination and confidence. They are better able to conquer their own challenges! How great that something so simple can have such a profound effect on our kids!
Several years ago when I was asked to teach a class on family history, I loved learning that the simple act of sharing my own experiences with my kids would empower them and deepen their sense of self-worth. In an effort to unlock this magic and hopefully set them up for success in their own lives, I decided to put together a list of questions to answer. These can be answered by parents, grandparents, or aunts or uncles. These questions are also meant to be answered by them in their journal, so that they are available for their own children and the legacy of awesome can continue!!!
Family Narrative
- What were the names and birthdates of your siblings, parents and grandparents? What were their nicknames and yours?
- When and where were you born? Did your parents share any stories about that day? Were they going to give you a different name?
- What is your earliest childhood memory? Happiest? Saddest?
- What was your childhood like? What did you enjoy doing for fun?
- What was school like for you growing up? Where did you go to school?
- Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child?
- What did you want to be when you grew up? What jobs did you have?
- What events most impacted your life growing up?
- What would you say is your proudest achievement?
- What do you feel was your biggest failure and how did you overcome it?
- Did you ever try out for a team and not make it? What did you do?
These questions are just a starting point. The hope is that sharing our experiences and history become commonplace so that our kids can recall these stories when life gets tricky! The stories we share, however, need not be harrowing or necessarily noteworthy to be impactful. Just knowing things about our family can help our kids know themselves more!
My mother got Alzheimer’s in her 50s. I was 18 when her memory started to fail. By the time I had my first child at 25, she no longer knew me by name. My kids never got the opportunity to really connect with her in this life. I decided to do my best to speak about her with my children and the things that she did for me growing up. I remember sharing with my oldest children when they were really young that raspberries were her favorite and how much she also adored hummingbirds. One day at the grocery store, long after I had shared with him those things, my oldest son said with a smile, “I must get my love of raspberries from Grandma Green! I really like hummingbirds too, so we have a lot in common!” It surprised me to hear that he had remembered that, and thrilled me to know that he was so happy about it, too!
So, let’s all take 5 minutes to share our lives with our kids!! Do it before bed! Do it in the car on the way home from school! Do it when they feel sad, happy, crazy, silly! Then don’t forget to write it in your journal, or have them write it in theirs. Life is beautiful, let’s celebrate it together!
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Kayleen
