The Daily Dad

Give Them Access To This Wisdom

Mar 17, 2020

02:32

Snipd AI

Exploring the timeless tradition of using storytelling to pass down wisdom and moral lessons to children, and the importance of reintroducing this practice to modern parenting.

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Quick takeaways

Parents should embrace the tradition of using fables to teach children timeless truths about life and human nature.

By discussing moral lessons in fables, parents can help children understand concepts like solitude, consequences, and perspective.

Deep dives

The Power of Fables and Moral Lessons

For thousands of years, humans have passed down moral lessons through fables and stories. While this form of storytelling has lost favor in recent times, it remains crucial for parents to teach their children timeless truths. It doesn't matter if the stories are fictional or exaggerated; what matters is the underlying message they convey about people's true nature and important life lessons. Parents are encouraged to bring these fables into their homes by reading them together, listening to them in the car, or even telling the stories from memory.

Passing Down Wisdom Through Fables and Parables

2min

For thousands of years, humans have been expressing wisdom to each other through fables. Whether it’s Aesop or the Bible or Leonardo da Vinci or Hans Christian Anderson, smart writers have been packaging moral lessons in the form of quaint little stories or parables.

And, for just as long, parents have been passing these fables onto their children.

But for whatever reason, this form of storytelling has lost favor. The stories are violent, people complain, or a tad dark. They’re full of weird historical anachronisms. They aren’t funny. Where are the pictures?! But Washington didn’t really chop down the cherry tree.

Talk about missing the point. Our job as parents is to teach our kids the timeless truths of the world. It doesn’t matter that the Frog and the Scorpion didn’t really exist—what matters is that we have to see people’s true nature. It doesn’t matter whether you believe in God or not, the lessons in the Bible have served humanity very well over thousands of years.

Make an effort to start bringing these fables into your house. You can listen to them on Spotify in the car. You can read them together before bed. Or you can tell the stories yourself from memory. Don’t just focus on the plot. Talk about the lessons too—talk to them about Da Vinci’s fable of the stone and its message about the importance of solitude and quiet. Talk about the Fox and the Stork, and how when you play a prank, you’ll get pranked too. Talk about “sour grapes.”

Teach them about the world through ridiculous stories. It’s a grand tradition...and a critical part of growing up.

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