Inventing stories with children

At what age can you start inventing stories with children?

To come up with a story from beginning to end requires abstract thinking, which two- or three-year-olds typically haven't yet fully developed. On the other hand, the same applies to storytelling as to all creative activities – practice makes perfect. That's why it makes sense to involve children in telling stories from the start. You can begin by making up stories yourselves and asking little questions about the details along the way: 'Do you know what colour the dog was?', 'And what did the knight then discover in his castle?' Gradually your child can contribute more and more to a story and thereby develop their creativity. From about the age of five, children can also invent more complex stories with a continuous plot and several characters.

Inventing stories – how to get started

Geschichten erfinden | Baby spielt mit Mutter und Bruder

Sometimes stories come all by themselves – when you're lying cosy on the living-room carpet, wandering through the woods together or snuggling in bed before falling asleep. But you can also deliberately encourage a story. At first it may be a little bumpy, but in time your child will learn the flow and tell stories more freely.

Warm-up: To get in the storytelling mood, you can, for example, retell a familiar story. That could be your child's favourite picture book or a shared experience – the main thing is that your child can tell it freely in their own words.

Finding a theme – What if...? An easy way to find a topic is to ask 'What if...?' Either you or your child can set the direction: What if our house could fly? What if I open the fridge and find a group of tiny penguins inside? The advantage of such questions is that they usually place the child's own surroundings at the centre of the story – which makes it much easier to tell.

Finding a theme – finding the story structure: If you're inventing stories with several children, you can decide the basic elements of the story in advance:

Who should be the main character of the story?
Where does the story take place?
What is the problem / What adventure must the hero of the story overcome?

Usually a first plotline develops from these questions on its own. You can help by asking further questions, for example: Does the hero cycle / ride a horse / have a flying carpet?

Finding a theme – giving ideas: A nice incentive can be to tell the first few sentences of a story and let your child carry it on: 'Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived right on the edge of the woods in a house almost completely overgrown with bramble bushes. One day he went out the front door and there he saw on the doorstep ...'

Geschichten erfinden | Papa und Tochter schauen in ein Buch

For parents: Tips for inventing stories with children

Don't force it: If your child doesn't feel like telling a story, perhaps read a book aloud instead and try again another time.
Create a calm atmosphere: Time pressure or a restless environment at home hampers creativity.
Make a start: Describe an opening scenario or ask your child who the hero of the story should be – that's an incentive to join in.
Describe details: When your child sketches the plot, you can add details that make the story more vivid: 'The wind rustled in the leaves, the branches creaked, and an owl called "hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo!"'
Take turns telling: Everyone may contribute their part to the story – if you like, you can use an egg timer to give each person two or three minutes to tell.
Help if it stalls: Offer a few ideas if your child doesn't know what to say next or gets tangled up in the plot.
Bring your heroes back: Many children find it easier to invent stories when they already know the story's hero. If they've invented a character for one story, you can invent a new story with the same character next time.