Children As Family Storytellers     

by Faith Rogow, PhD  

Every family has stories. The shared memories connect us. They help us understand who we are and where we came from. The best stories are told over and over. In your family, maybe it’s a story of where that special dish that has been handed down for generations came from.  

With your help — and your phone or tablet’s camera — your child can be a family storyteller, too. By being a storyteller, they’re strengthening their own connections with others, and they’re also helping the whole family strengthen their connections with one another.   

Even very young children can use a camera (or direct you to use it) to record both special and everyday moments. Then you can share those photos and video in group chats or emails (or even in a printed photo book). Having pictures also helps little ones and elders have something concrete to talk about, especially when they can’t talk in person. For instance, next time there is a family gathering, you might say: “Grandma can’t be here for the holiday. Let’s help her share the fun. It will be your job to pick important things that happen and take (or ask me to take) pictures of those things. We’ll send them to her tomorrow.”   

Children can choose whatever is important to them! You can model responsible media use by asking for permission to take or share pictures, especially if your child thinks a photo is funny but you think the person might be embarrassed. That helps children understand that the media they make has an impact on others.   

Sprinkle in questions to help your child connect the picture to their goal: “How should we frame the photo? What do you want to include and leave out? Everyone at the table, or just the dog begging for a treat? How does that choice help you tell your story?” If everything seems important to document, suggest they pick three things. If they need help finding an important moment or image to capture, share how you make those decisions yourself.   

Follow up by showing your child how you share the pictures so that only family can see them. Let them help you write a note (or get on a video call) to explain each choice: “What is in that photo that tells Yaya what we were doing?” “When you see that picture, what do you remember that you want Grandpa to know?”   

As they grow and gain experience, children can begin to collect stories from others. They can prepare questions and record short video interviews. Even when young children’s conversations are only a few sentences long, taking and sharing photos and videos of family events helps them feel important. Having photos helps them remember events and important connections, especially across generations or miles.   

Faith Rogow, PhD is an independent scholar and the author of several groundbreaking media literacy texts and articles, including Media Literacy for Young Children: Teaching Beyond the Screen Time Debates (NAEYC). She was the founding president of the National Association for Media Literacy Education and is an internationally respected leader who has been an innovator of media literacy education practices for more than 30 years.