Sharing our Children’s Birth Stories

I read an interesting post called “Family Storytelling” on the blog for the Centre for Family Literacy. The post was by Jonna Grad and encouraged parents to tell their children the story of their birth. The idea is to build strong bonds and encourage language development through oral storytelling.

I remember my mom telling me the story of my birth when I was young. We would cuddle up before I went to sleep and she would describe the wintery night when she went into labor with me and how her and my dad rushed to the hospital. These are precious memories.

After reading “Family Storytelling” I asked my 3 year old daughter Hannah if she wanted to hear the story of when she was born. She eagerly nodded with much curiosity. After telling her the story multiple times, she asked to hear the birth story of her youngest brother Eden.

Once Eden’s story was told, I asked Hannah if she would like to hear Zachary’s birth story as well. She was again very curious and sat quietly while I told her about Zachary in mommy’s belly, the tumor around his heart and the love we all have for him even though we couldn’t take him home from the hospital.

Photograph copyright Alexis Marie Chute

Sharing Zachary’s birth story was such a special time for Hannah to learn about and celebrate her middle brother and also for me as a mother to include Zachary in our family storytelling. He is a very important part of our story. This opened up a time for Hannah and I to reflect on where Zachary is now, a favorite topic for Hannah. He is up in the clouds, we say. Zachary is with God and with us in our hearts.

If you have lost a child and have other children, I encourage you to share their birth stories with them along with the story of your precious child who you hold in your heart.

My mom once told me that the great people of this world are kept alive long after they have died by the many people who talk about them and share their stories. We have a wonderful opportunity to do the same for our children.