It is beneficial and powerful to tell our children stories from our life and the lives of their grandparents and ancestors. Funny stories, sad stories, inspiring stories, and others will help a child increase in confidence and help them overcome challenges that they themselves will face in the future.
As a Mormon girl growing up in Utah, I remember celebrating my pioneer ancestors every 24th of July. My parents and grandparents would tell us stories and make traditional food that the pioneers would have eaten such as homemade wheat bread, stew, and molasses taffy. We even danced in circles to some of the fiddle music they may have listened to. Now as a mother of three young children, I have contemplated the power of teaching my own children the stories of their ancestors.
Every major world religion in some way or another emphasizes the importance of remembering ancestors. Buddhists honor their ancestors. Muslims read the Koran and remember the stories of their ancestors. Christians read the Bible to remember the stories of their religious heritage. Jews celebrate Passover, Hanukkah and other religious ceremonies to remember the stories of their ancestors. Why so much emphasis on remembering, and why does God invite all of His children to reflect back on their lineage and ancestry? Perhaps it has something to do with the scripture found in Malachi 4 verse 6 which says “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.”
Studies have shown that children who have a strong family narrative and know the stories of their ancestors have better emotional health. One such study asked 48 families 20 questions about their family history. They found out that the more these children knew about their predecessors, the more sense of control they felt over their lives. They also experienced higher self esteem, and were likely to express that their families were functional. “Hearing these stories gave the children a sense of their history and a strong ‘intergenerational self’. Even if they were only nine, their identity stretched back 100 years, giving them connection, strength and resilience” (“Why Children Need to Know Their Family History”, 14 Jan 2017, The Guardian). Other studies have cited that children do better scholastically when they have a knowledge of their family ancestry. They showed that these students attempted to answer more of the questions, and so did better on exams (“The Benefits of Thinking About Our Ancestors”, 20 Dec, 2014, The British Psychological Society).
A common phrase I remember hearing from my own parents, of course in jest and with a smile was, “buck up and remember your pioneer stock”. It gave my siblings and I a sense of confidence as we recalled that our own great great-grandparents showed strength and bravery when they were met with opposition and challenge. These amazing individuals took courage in their faith. They left family and friends in Europe, sold many of their possessions and risked their own lives to cross the Atlantic Ocean. They eventually journeyed across America on foot in very uncomfortable conditions. All of this in order to to experience religious tolerance and freedom from persecution. They left to the safe haven of America just as the Pilgrims had done two centuries earlier, as the Israelites had left Egypt before them, and as Abraham had traveled before them. They came to America to be with others who had the same beliefs and faith that they did – in a community of safety and refuge. If they did that and sacrificed so much for me, I can also have courage to do hard things. I can also sacrifice and live my best life for those who come after me.
One such story is of a woman, my ancestor, Amy Teressa Leavitt, who lost her first child to whooping cough. She experienced great depths of sorrow, then hope as she sang the hymns of her faith. My mother who taught music to all of her children emphasized the power of music in our own lives, and the need to use it to strengthen and bless others.
It is beneficial and powerful to tell our children stories from our life and the lives of their grandparents and ancestors. Funny stories, sad stories, inspiring stories, and others will help a child increase in confidence and help them overcome challenges that they themselves will face in the future.
Invitation: Learn and then share bedtime stories with your children as they are falling asleep; Stories about your life, your parents’ lives, or your grandparents’ lives. You will see beautiful benefits not only in your children’s’ lives, but in your life as well!
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