The stories you should tell your multicultural kid every day

[ 0 ] 13/09/2022 | liza

14. The stories you should tell your multicultural kid every day by Elisavet Arkolaki

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“The most important thing that parents can do is talk and read to their children. During the toddler and preschool years, it is critical to provide children with different language and reading experiences.” – G. Reid Lyon

There are so many studies and so much research all pointing to the direction that reading to our children from very early on, telling them stories, is paramount for their development. Literature and literacy are the direct product of a human need to understand the world through the simple act of telling stories. Humans have always been coming up with all sorts of stories, fables, and myths in order to better understand the people around them and make sense of the world. This is how the human race survived, lived, and evolved.

A brilliant way to help our multicultural children interiorize a strong sense of identity is by sharing traditional stories; the ones that span generations. Folklore stories and myths from our countries of origin keep the cultures alive and help our children connect with her roots, even when living outside the community. They can help our children grow closer to their past and incorporate elements of tenderness and pride in their identity. Also, sharing stories from cultures that aren’t their own can help to better understand friends and classmates.

Then, there are these other stories, the ones you can recite yourself, and which can be told at the most diverse moments of the day and not just before bedtime. Use every opportunity you have to share with your children invented stories, heard stories, and stories you’ve read together. I remember growing up listening to my father telling us -my sister and I- three stories he had come up with himself, always the same, at dinner time. This storytelling time was so special to us that we purposefully delayed finishing our food. We never got tired of them. These very same stories are now passed on to my children.

Books are a great tool to help children make sense of their homes, communities, and the world at large. Literature provides their first window to a world beyond their five senses, a world that can be magically entered by the simple act of words and illustrations putting in motion the wheels of the internal mechanism called imagination. This is how they grow and this is how they develop into individuals who can think for themselves.

There are so many books out there to choose from and as parents, it is our responsibility to present to our young ones fun stories accompanied by beautiful artwork that spark their curiosity and inspire them. For our multicultural children, in particular, it can be very beneficial to pick up books with diverse characters to whom they can relate. It is also advisable when the children start showing specific interests, to let them choose books on their own. One of our favorite family outings for instance is Saturday morning visits to the local library.

When it comes to which books are best, it’s hard to give specific titles. Book preferences can be very subjective, and I can only share with you which are our favorite ones right now. What I do know for a fact, is that the best books will grow with your child. Let’s say you buy a book for your child, any book, and you read it many times, again and again to your child. At one point she will be able to recite the story whereas later on, if it has become a favorite, she will enjoy reading it on her own, all curled up somewhere cozy at home.

A good multicultural book should:

– present the character’s culture accurately and sensitively;
– empower children of different ethnic backgrounds;
– have strong literary merit.

Here I have compiled a list of my personal favorite picture books for multicultural children.

Here you will find an interview blog post where different authors, including myself, discuss the benefits of reading bilingual books for children.

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For further reading, I wholeheartedly recommend the Erasmus+ project, PEaCH, guidebooks and resources. It’s a project that I proudly support as an ambassador. PEaCH stands for “Preserving and promoting Europe’s cultural and linguistic heritage through the empowerment of bilingual children and families”.

Resources for parents: https://bilingualfamily.eu/resources-for-parents/
Resources for educators: https://bilingualfamily.eu/resources-for-educators-and-peach-ambassadors/

On their YouTube channel (also packed with informative videos, webinars and presentations) you will also find narrations of my books in different languages.

That’s all for now. Thank you so much for reading! If you’d like to get in touch, you can send me an email at liza @ maltamum.com If you find this resource valuable, please share it with others.

Lots of love,
Elisavet Arkolaki, or just Liza.

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