Telling stories is an important skill for children to learn. It can include talking about real things that happened, making up stories, and retelling stories you’ve heard or read.
Here are some tips to help your child tell stories.
Model storytelling
When you talk to your child, share your own personal stories and tell other stories you know.
Talk about details and feelings when you tell your stories.
Encourage storytelling
Ask your child to tell you about what happened during their day. This gives them regular practice. You can ask them to tell you about something funny or the best thing that happened.
Expand on what your child says
If your child tells you, “We went to the park today,” ask a follow-up question like, “What did you do there?”
Talk about sequences
Use words like first, next, and finally, or beginning, middle, and end. These words can help your child learn to put their ideas in order.
Use picture books
When reading a book together, have your child describe what’s happening in the pictures before reading the words.
Talk about describing words
Ask your child to think of as many words as they can to describe a topic. This is called brainstorming. For example, if you’re talking about dogs, ask your child to brainstorm words about dogs, such as: Dalmatian, tricks, leash, fetch, kennel, and veterinarian.
After your child has brainstormed many words, connect the words by putting them into categories and groups. For example, connect ideas about dog training such as sit, stay, teaching tricks, watch dogs, and service dogs. Your child can use the connected words to talk or write more clearly about a topic.
Help your child to make up stories
Stories can be about your child's weekend, a show they watched, a book they read, or a story they make up themself.
Encourage your child to make pictures in their mind about what they want to say. Ask them to think of as many words as they can to describe what’s happening in their story, and encourage them to use feeling words.
Then, use “who, what, where, when, why, and how” questions to help your child include the important information. For example, “Where did this happen?” and “Why did they do that?”
For more ideas
For more ideas and resources to support children’s communication and literacy, visit:
Where to get help
To learn how speech-language pathologists and audiologists can help with speech, language, and hearing concerns, contact your child’s healthcare provider or visit
Pediatric Rehabilitation.
