Telling stories to children

How can I tell children's stories in an exciting way?

Speak clearly: When you tell stories to children, you should make sure that the words are pronounced clearly and, if necessary, a little more slowly. Especially if your child doesn't yet know the story, they need the time to be able to follow the plot.

Gestures and facial expressions: If your child notices that you are fully into telling the children's story, the mood can quickly transfer. Joy, sadness, or tension shown in your facial expressions can help your child immerse in the plot and empathize with the characters.

Adjust the volume: If something mysterious happens in the plot while you are telling the story to your child, or a character sneaks up on someone, you can lower your voice to a whisper and also get louder when something exciting happens or someone screams. Of course your child should not be frightened, but by changing the volume of your voice you capture your child's attention and secure their concentration.

Act out actions: If the story says that a character is laughing, yawning, or making special sounds, you can include these when telling the children's story. This makes the text come alive.

Allow pauses: A short pause and building up a tension arc – that makes any plot more exciting when you tell children stories. Conversely, you can also speak faster when the prince must ride quickly to escape the monster.

Switching roles: Use your voice to give different characters a personality. The told children's story becomes livelier if the grumpy troll mumbles into his beard and the king maybe speaks with a nasal voice. In combination with pictures your child can immerse even more in the plot and their imagination is stimulated.

Telling children's stories: What suits which age?

Tastes differ – this of course also applies when telling stories to children. Whether your child prefers stories about animals, knights, wizards, or monsters, you can only find out by trying. And preferences can change. What has always fascinated your child until now may be boring tomorrow.

About 0 to 2 years old:

From the start you can tell your child stories and Children's books read aloud. Even if the content of the stories is initially less interesting and you can pick the exciting stories yourself, the baby enjoys the shared moments. Over time, however, the subjects of the stories naturally become more important. Particularly Picture books for children and babies become exciting. Here you can discover colorful pictures with your child and read or invent stories to go with them.

Tip: Babies want to not only see the first stories in their picture books, but also feel them. For this purpose, particularly suitable are baby books with exciting tactile elements like faux fur, crinkly foil, or small mirror surfaces. That makes reading stories together even more fun!

About 2 to 3 years old:

At this age most children are enthusiastic about stories from everyday life. Here they can recognize people and places and more easily empathize with the story. They will probably also slowly begin to tell stories about previous experiences themselves. You can include your child as a character in your story or tell about an event you experienced together.

From about 3 years old:

Now the told children's stories can be somewhat more abstract and fairy-tale-like. It's important that your child finds a character in the story who copes with all situations and that the story has a good ending. The older your child gets, the longer the stories can be.

About 3 to 4 years old:

Now your child is in the so-called "fairy-tale age". You can tell your child stories from the Brothers Grimm collection or read one of Hans Christian Andersen's literary fairy tales. It is still important that the plot is simple and predictable and that the heroes of the stories overcome evil easily. Be it through magical powers or other special aids.

From about 5 years old:

Now the told children's stories are allowed to be somewhat longer. Your child can now even follow stories that have two plot lines that intertwine. Time jumps may also occur. But they should cover time spans that your child knows and can imagine, such as two days or one week.

About 6 to 7 years:

From this age you can tell stories together with your child. Your child is now able to retell children's stories they already know. So you can together tell a fairy tale like "The Frog Prince" and if your child doesn't know what comes next, you can step in to help. But let your child tell as much as possible. Because through this they learn to put themselves in the characters and understand their feelings.

From 8 years old:

Now the roles can be reversed. Your child is now at the point where they can invent and tell stories themselves. This is not only a lot of fun, but also promotes your child's expressive ability and expands their vocabulary.

Tip: How about Bedtime stories for babies and toddlers? They are the ideal bedtime ritual to end the day creatively. They also give your child the security they need to settle down in the evening.

Checklist for telling children's stories in an exciting way

Geschichten spannend erzählen | Zwei glückliche Schwestern mit Mutter und Vater sitzen auf dem Boden, umarmen sich und lesen ein Buch zu Hause

Not too thrilling: Especially Children's fairy tales to listen to and get excited about or stories with unfamiliar plots can sometimes become too thrilling for children. If you notice that your child begins to be afraid while you are telling the story, you should first continue reading in your 'normal' voice until they have calmed down a bit.
Read beforehand: Also, read-aloud children's stories can be made exciting. The better you know a story, the easier it will probably be for you to build suspense while reading. That way you won't be surprised by the plot while reading and can focus on embellishing. Of course you don't have to rehearse reading aloud. But you'll likely know your child's favorite book almost by heart very quickly.
Allow interruptions: Even if you are telling your child a story and getting into the role of the characters, you should let your child have a say. Interjections and comments show that your child is interested in the story and is listening to you attentively. Maybe you can both change the plot and spin it on together. Because inventing stories with children, is fun and helps them process situations and experiences from everyday life.