Not Every Story Is Good for the Child

Stories help a lot. This is how our grandmothers used to inculcate values. Children love to listen to stories—bedtime stories, anytime stories. They love stories.

Through these stories, we can impart values. One great thing about stories from scriptures is that the focus is on values and righteousness. The very purpose of stories in our scriptures is to highlight values. Our sages have authored tons of scriptures, and you will see that not one of them gives a wrong idea. Above everything else, they teach how to live, how to live righteously, and how to live as a good human being. The imagery in these stories is so strong; it makes a deep impact on a child’s mind.

When a child hears the story of young Lord Krishna stamping the hoods of the evil serpent Kaliya, it is not only the power and heroism of the Lord that goes into the child’s mind. The child also learns that Kaliya is evil because he used to harm others, so harming others is not a good thing to do. The child learns that evil should be countered and destroyed. The child learns that a young boy courageously faced a monstrous serpent and could destroy it, highlighting the importance of courage and how divinity is always there to protect and save good people.

Stories like how Raja Harischandra sacrificed his kingdom for the sake of honesty, how Dasharatha sent his son Rama away for 14 years into the forest but still did not deviate from honesty, how Maharshi Dadheechi gave his own bones for the sake of good, and stories of Mahatma Gandhi and how he adhered to truth even in the most challenging situations—they create deep impressions on a child’s mind.

These stories are developed in such a way that the main character of the story becomes a hero, and that is how the stories are presented. The child would want to imitate the hero of the story; he would want to become a hero himself. Every such story has a message to convey—a positive message of great value and importance.

We are losing this. With nuclear families, we don’t have this support from grannies anymore. This is very important. Parents, no matter how busy they are with their careers or daily routine, should consciously find time to identify sources of such stories and connect their children to them, encouraging them to listen.

Avoid stories of wild imagination; they are merely entertainers and hollow. There is no message in them. Such stories, often coming from the West, will only make the child believe in a world that is unreal. Avoid stories of superhumans based only on physical heroism, speed, or the power to kill hundreds with some strange magical power or weapon. This is useless and will bring violence to the child.

Carefully choose what your child is going to listen to. Understand what impression it will leave on the child’s mind. Not every children’s storybook or bedtime storybook is good. Just because it is in the market does not mean it is good.

Be careful about what you choose for your child.

Knowledge Bank

What happens when your source of money is not pure?

Utilizing money that is impure makes you more and more attached to the world. You become more and more addicted to pleasures and enjoyments.

Is Agastya muni mentioned in Ramayana?

In the Balakanda of Valmiki Ramayana it is mentioned that Tataka became a rakshasi due to the curse of Agastya rishi. Yuddhakanda talks about Agastya giving upadesha of Aditya-hridaya-stotra to Lord Rama when he was fatigued in the battle to rejuvenate and motivate him. Uttara Ramayana also mentions a Gandharva offering a golden bangle to Agastya as penance and Agastya giving Lord Rama a special arrow which would pierce the enemy, come out from the other side, take bath in the sea, and come back to the quiver.