You know…I feel like I’m a pretty good mom. I take good care of my kids and I think we have great relationships. They know they can count on me for anything and we have a lot of fun together!
I’ve realized recently that I am a HUGE failure as a parent in at least one area; story telling.
Lately, Cameron has been asking me to tell him super hero stories. He’ll run up to me and say, “Mommy! Please tell me a Batman story!” Then he sits cross-legged on the floor and his big brown eyes gaze up at me with anticipation. My response?
“Once upon a time there was a man named Batman. He was very strong and brave and always saved the day. One day, he saw the bad guys so he chased them and captured them. Finally the city was safe and everyone lived happily ever after. The end.”
For the life of me I can’t make up a good story! Some parents are able weave elaborate tales of princesses and woodland animals and expand upon these stories every night. This, apparently, does not lie within my skill set. I want to be able to come up with creative stories for my kids but my mind just goes blank when faced with this challenge.
Do you make up stories for your kids? What’s your trick?
LOL! You’re not alone. My trick is to involve G in the telling of the story. I’ll usually start with the character (Once there was a boy, girl, animal of some sort), and then G will tell me what their name is. We go back and forth like that and usually end up with some pretty crazy stories, but he thinks it’s hilarious.
Holy cats BATMAN! I actually like story telling but mostly because we have been telling stories to Matthew since I can remember. It was HIS way of prolonging the night and NOT going to bed. Of course we totally did not get that we were being manipulated at the time BUT that is another “story”.
Our trick that has worked over the years is to ask him for the topic and then run with it. The past year or so it has been the same topic Batman/Robin or Spiderman and how their girlfriends (Suzy and Katie???) have been captured and the good guy has to save them. Then I steal elements from the shows that I know either from when I was kid or what I have seen recently. I know a few of the bad guys from the books we have OR I ask Matthew to tell me a bad guy that might have done this “evil” deed. Usually with the superheros I involve some sort of robbery/theft/high speed chase and in the end they WRAP up the bad guy, drop him at the police station and the gf is saved with a big kiss. OY VEY. Yup, that is the story. Kevin’s stories are similar!
Anyway, I usually just let my imagination run wild and involve the boy in the story a bit. Speaking of woodland animals remind me to tell you about Rudy the rabbit sometime…
Kate asks for story once in awhile, and mostly they involve her friends, or us as a family going on some sort of adventure. I’m afraid I too, am a lame story teller.
But I’m working at it! She definitely did not get her vivid imagination from me.