Dubai mother’s story-telling initiative gets children away from screens

Books, not screens: Veena Gandhi. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

DUBAI // Four years ago, Veena Gandhi became so frustrated by seeing children choosing electronic gadgets over books that she launched an initiative to expose more children to the written word.

“We all, including our children, are inseparable from our gadgets,” said the Indian. “It pained my heart to see today’s children glued to their iPhones and iPads and that the age-old tradition of grandmas weaving many a grand fable on cold nights has all but died out.”

Ms Gandhi, 38, said it was her young son who provided the catalyst for launching the Tell Me A Story initiative in February 2012. “He was only three-years-old at that time and he felt left out when his friends, instead of playing with him, would be playing with their iPads,” she said.

“One day, he suggested that to grab their attention I must tell them a story. And from one day it became an everyday routine. From a play-date idea, it turned into a fully fledged programme.”

A master storyteller, Ms Gandhi keeps her wide-eyed audience entranced by enacting storytelling and using props, such as puppets, to help the youngsters become lost in another world.

The group has grown and grown through word-of-mouth. “Most importantly, these are fun sessions in which children are exposed to the written word,” said Ms Gandhi. “They are told to narrate stories of their own and at the end of each session they are given a list of books to read for the next session. This gets them interested to read.”

Ms Gandhi said parents should encourage children to start with a paragraph a day and let them select their reading material.

“As adults we should not impose on them what they should read,” she said. “It is fine if they are reading a comic book. Gradually, encourage them to read other genres. Most importantly, parents should read with the children. If I as a parent keep my gadget aside and pick up a book, then I can ask my child to do the same.”