Madam, – As a professional storyteller and writer who visits schools all over this island almost every day, I wish I could be happy with the results of the survey (Home News, February 2nd). The report stated 71 per cent of mothers read a bedtime story to their children nearly every night.
This certainly runs counter to what I am hearing from children! Over the past 20 years I have seen a steady decline in young people’s talking, listening and concentration skills and so I make a point of asking every group how many of them have televisions in their bedrooms. The results show about 80 per cent, even in the under-five age group.
I meet a lot of children who have no knowledge of nursery rhymes but who can chant the songs from cartoons, who speak with American accents due to the time spent viewing, and whose lack of imagination and speech certainly does not indicate any experience with face-to-face storytelling. I discuss this with teachers and speech therapists on a regular basis.
I know almost every parent realises they should tell stories to their children and, if asked, I reckon most would definitely say they do. In talks to parents I always make a plea for them to use public libraries and bookshops and of course to talk to their children rather than plonking them in front of a screen either in their own rooms or even in the back of their cars, a more recent phenomenon. Storytelling should be a vital part of family life for all children.
It is ironic that on the same page of your paper there was a piece about library storytelling being suspended due to a work-to-rule. For some children, that would be their only access to hearing a story told from a real person as opposed to a box! – Yours, etc,