One day, my kindergartener came home from school and excitedly narrated an incident which had happened that day. “Mamma,” she said, “ two kids were trying to trouble Lina and scratch her.” Lina was my daughter’s friend from school. “I stood in front of her and told them to try and scratch me instead.” I asked her worriedly and hurriedly if she had got hurt. “Just a bit,” she said, proudly displaying a light red mark on her arm, “I pushed them away and saved Lina.”
As I stared at the scratch mark on her arm, tears were streaming down my face. Not because she got hurt, because her action showed courage and loyalty albeit a bit of foolhardiness! Values that we don’t attribute to children at this tender age. And she was not even 5.
While I hugged her tightly, I wondered. Where did my little girl get this protective attitude from? Why did she act the way she did? I tried to recall instances from the past which might have influenced her, but nothing significant stood out. It was only later that I would connect the dots.
A few nights later, at bedtime, she got her well worn book “A Scruffy Tale”, for me to read. As I read the story to her, we came to this page -
The answer was revealed! It was right in front of my eyes. Just like Scruff in the story, she had tried to protect a friend whom she loved.
This discovery about how a story could directly influence the actions of a young child astounded me. Yes, I was well aware of the importance of books and how stories can be used to communicate thoughts and values effectively.
In fact, it was just the reason why I had started writing stories for children even before my daughter’s arrival in my life. My little nieces lived abroad. I would write stories and send them to my sister to read it out to them. I loved them and wanted to connect with them through a piece of my heart that would transcend the distance. Later, it was my daughter who inspired me to create a personalised story book for her and that is how “A Scruffy Tale” came about.
But to discover how my daughter had internalised the story and applied it to a similar situation in life was a revelation to me and gave me goose bumps. A living proof… a practical validation of my belief in the power of a positive story. It humbled me, enlightened me and strengthened my resolve. But I wondered then, looking at the unassuming book, what made this power a greater whole than the sum of its parts? And had I truly understood all the parts in play? I felt a need to explore the potential of this power. I was determined to dig deeper…but would do that later.
Right then, I was just happy to revel in that moment of discovery. To revel in the thought that though the mark on her arm had faded, the story had made a valuable and indelible mark…in her heart and mind.
My curiosity led me to research and explore theories which not just corroborated my experiences but further analysed it. I discovered that it is not just the primary message of the story that affects the child. Everything about the book (story, narration, even illustrations) is absorbed deeply by the child. Hence, there is a critical need to choose books wisely for children. However, I will save that for another blog.