It is important to tell the story of 'Once upon a time', not to forget children on mobile phones

In some advanced countries where technology has taken a leap, there is a trend of telling stories to children. It has not only saved them from mobile and laptop addiction, emotional development has also been done well. Writer Suvin Bhattarai believes that children who listen to stories from an early age will grow in love with books and develop reading culture.

"For proper parenting, it is best to tell stories to children," says writer Bhattarai, "it increases their imagination and creativity."

In the past, there was a tradition of going to sleep while singing lullabies. When there was no internet, mobile and television. At that time, parents used to tell stories to children. Children's literature writer Krishnadeep Sigdel tells, 'It was very enjoyable to listen to stories while lying on the lap of grandparents or clinging to the chest of parents.'

Earlier, when telling the story, it used to start with the phrase 'There was a country in one country'. In this way, the child was taken to an imaginary world and was told a story of mystery, struggle and success. Many things about life and the world could be explained to them through such stories. Ethics and conduct could be taught. He was taught to differentiate between truth and falsehood.

The development of the habit of listening to stories and reading will increase the child's emotional attachment to books. Author Sigdel says, "It is very important to tell stories to children to develop customs, culture, behavior and language."

Author Bhattarai says, "I now tell my son by creating a new social story rather than the old story of fairies and princesses."

According to Suwin, as soon as one story is told, the child wants to hear another story. At times, he himself even pretends to tell Kanikuthi stories.

The story is lost, enjoyed on mobile

Author Bhattarai believes that the practice of telling stories to children by parents is disappearing. Rather than telling stories, parents keep children apart by giving them mobile phones or TV remotes. Because of this, the tendency of children to spend time on mobile phones rather than looking for the proximity of their parents is increasing.

"Now we are raising children wrongly," says Bhattarai.

Nowadays, children are getting used to enjoying themselves by watching videos and playing games on their mobile phones. They are indulging in TikTok, Facebook. It is good to get used to modern devices even though the content transmitted on them is not child friendly. Therefore, instead of benefiting their children's mentality, psychologists have analyzed that they are inciting things like light entertainment, violence, and revenge.

Child Psychiatrist Dr. Arun Kunwar says, "Nowadays, children play on their mobile phones after lying down in bed. This not only disturbs their sleep, the trend of watching and listening to unnecessary content is developing.

Mobile in pocket, book in hand

Author Bhattarai believes that the habit of listening to stories in childhood will develop reading culture in them and this will increase their creative ability.

The development of the habit of listening to stories and reading will increase the child's emotional attachment to books. Author Sigdel says, "It is very important to tell stories to children to develop customs, culture, behavior and language."

According to Child Psychiatrist Kunwar, the habit of reading books or listening to stories helps in the emotional development of the child. It has a positive effect on them. They learn patience, humility, morality, humanity. Kunwar says, "You should tell stories to children for at least half an hour every day during free time."

The tendency to tell stories helps to increase the child's imagination and creativity. Children who grow up listening to stories in this way also learn to read and write quickly. Kunwar says that it will also help to increase their intellectual capacity and knowledge.

What kind of stories do children listen to?

The nature of children is curious. They tend to be happy if they can pretend to cover up small mistakes. Children do not like serious topics. They like fun things and imagination. If you want to make children interested in reading, you should tell stories full of entertainment.

According to the child psychiatrist, such characters should be prepared in the story in which the children can see themselves. If they are told or read a story they are not interested in, they will not remember it even if they read it. Don't try to tell children about the rich and the poor, the profound things about religion and culture through stories. If a story is created with characters according to their nature, children will like it.

No children

According to children's literature writer Sigdel, earlier literature for children was often associated with moral education. Books written according to the ideas of elders may be good in terms of sermons, but they were not made after studying whether children like them or not.

Sigdel says that in recent days, the idea that children's interests should be considered and literature should be written to meet their needs, and the process of writing children's literature in accordance with that has also started.

Not all the children's literature we have now is child friendly. But it is developing. There are various reasons why our children do not have a reading culture. He argues that the structure of the government's policy and curriculum is not conducive to developing a reading culture in children.

"Schools have placed so much burden of books that children don't have time to read any other external books. Parents also encourage children to read more than physical books they have given up reading, which means that reading culture has not been developed in them,' says Sigdel.

He says that even though there are no books suitable for child psychology, reading culture is not developed in children.

The book is child friendly according to their needs and interests. Something that a child can feel is mine is called child-friendly. Sigdel says that some good children's literature has been overshadowed because there is no medium to discuss children's literature and children's literature creators.

Story according to child psychology

Sigdel says that stories should be told according to the age group of the child. The age group of children can be divided into under three years, three to five years, five to seven years, nine to 12 years and above 12 years. Each age group has different interests and abilities. Therefore, Sigdel says that children's literature should be composed according to his age group.

"Children under the age of nine prefer books with colorful pictures," he says, "children above the age of nine prefer fewer pictures and more language." If children's literature is made according to that, they will like it.