Does your child have a favourite hero? What if the tales they love could also equip them with the tools to face life’s challenges?
Children need heroes in their lives—figures who inspire them and offer a moral compass to navigate the complexities of the world. These heroes serve as powerful role models, showcasing qualities such as courage, resilience, and integrity. They embody the idea that life is an adventurous journey filled with challenges, hardships, adversaries, and even moments of peril. However, the narrative often emphasises that triumph is always within reach if the hero perseveres and refuses to give up.
This concept is beautifully encapsulated in the words of Albert Einstein: “You never fail until you stop trying.” This truth is at the heart of the Hero’s Journey—a narrative framework that serves as a powerful tool for teaching resilience to kids through storytelling.
Neuroscience Insight
Did you know that storytelling activates the brain’s reward system? Research shows that narratives, especially those involving overcoming obstacles, boost dopamine levels, enhancing memory and motivation. This makes the Hero’s Journey a powerful teaching tool for resilience.
How Heroes and Heroines Inspire Resilience in Children
In storytelling—in movies, literature, or folklore—there is often a central theme that resonates with many audiences, which is known as “The Hero’s Journey.” Joseph Campbell popularised this framework in his seminal work, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” Campbell explores the universal patterns found in the tales of heroes across different cultures and time periods, pointing out that the struggles faced by these legendary figures are not so different from the challenges we encounter in our everyday lives. Thats why heroes and heroines are figures children can identify themselves, a hero journey is every person’s journey.
Characters like Simba from “The Lion King,” Hercules from Greek mythology, Luke Skywalker from “Star Wars,” Anna from Frozen, and Batman from comic lore each showcase that growth often comes from stepping outside of one’s comfort zone and overcoming adversity. These narratives remind us that the path to find our true self and success is often paved with difficulties, but with determination, travel companions and a refusal to surrender, victory is always a possibility.
Using the Hero’s Journey to Teach Kids About Resilience
The hero’s journey is a narrative framework typically comprising 12 distinct steps, categorised into three overarching stages. This model structures countless myths and stories and reflects the personal growth and transformation of the hero throughout the adventure.
1. The first stage: Departure
This stage marks the hero’s initial separation from their ordinary life. It begins with a powerful call to adventure, challenging the hero’s mundane existence and stirring a desire for something greater. This call may take the form of a specific event, a prophetic dream, or even the announcement of a crisis that requires action.
Lesson for kids: Stepping out of your comfort zone is the first step toward growth.
2. The second stage: Initiation
The journey deepens as the hero faces many trials, tribulations, and daunting challenges that arise along the path. Each test is more formidable than the last, pushing the hero to their limits.
Lesson for kids: Struggles are opportunities to grow stronger and smarter.
3. The third stage: Return
The final stage encapsulates the culmination of the hero’s adventure. Here, the hero reaps the rewards of their journey, which may include newfound knowledge, treasures, or a sense of fulfilled purpose.
Armed with these gifts, they begin the journey back home, but not before facing one last formidable challenge, often referred to as the final test.
Lesson for kids: Challenges shape who we become, and victories inspire confidence.
Exploring the hero’s journey in stories—whether in movies, cartoons, or fairytales—can help parents provide invaluable lessons to their children. Understanding this narrative arc helps nurture a moral compass centred around integrity, resilience, and compassion, equipping young minds with the tools they need to navigate their own life’s adventures.
PAUSE AND REFLECT
Think about a time your child faced a challenge—learning to ride a bike, making a new friend, or tackling a difficult school project. How could a hero’s story have helped them see the value of perseverance?
The Power of Storytelling in Building Resilience and Self-Discovery
This approach to storytelling encompasses several key concepts that are instrumental in helping children develop resilience and a deep understanding of themselves and the world around them:
- Recognition of individual strengths is essential for children to learn how to identify and appreciate their unique abilities.
- Valuing mistakes as learning opportunities helps develop a growth mindset.
- Empowerment in decision-making fosters a sense of ownership over their lives.
- Openness to support and acknowledging that seeking help is a strength, not a weakness.
- Promote positive character traits such as fairness, integrity, persistence, and kindness.
- Understanding the impact of actions on others, both positive and negative.
- The value of generosity, whether through time, resources, or kindness, instils a sense of community and connectedness.
- Understanding diversity, cultural differences, and their richness. The are many tales and journeys as peoples and cultures on the world.
- The necessity of discipline helps children appreciate the value of perseverance, learning, hard work and the dedication required to achieve their goals.
As your children grow, they will inevitably encounter various changes and challenges—just as you have throughout your own life. These experiences offer them valuable opportunities to explore their identity and hone their capabilities. The hero returns with gifts: skills, values and companions, and most important, their true self.
The earlier they come to terms with the fact that life is filled with trials and tribulations, the better equipped they will be to handle them with resilience and grace.
Cultural Connection
The Hero’s Journey framework is universal, showcasing diverse cultural values and perspectives. From Greek mythology’s Hercules to Indian epics like the Mahabharata, heroes teach courage, growth, and transformation. Exploring these tales fosters empathy and appreciation for different cultures.
Be the Hero in Your Child’s Life
Surrounding your child with morally balanced and highly accountable figures, can help you create an environment where they can identify themselves and learn to face life’s changes with courage and enthusiasm. This creates a solid foundation for them to embark on their own unique journeys and adventures as they navigate the complexities of growing up.
So, ask yourself: Are you ready to take on the role of that pivotal hero or heroine in your child’s life?
Begin this transformative journey by assessing your current circumstances, acknowledging the changes you aspire to make, and then working to improve yourself. Through this process, you will improve yourself and become a shining example of resilience for your child, guiding them through life’s incredible voyage.
Reflect
What’s one hero story you and your child love?
Take a moment to reflect and share this with another parent who might enjoy it too.
References:
- Campbell, J. (1988). The Hero with a Thousand Faces. HarperCollins UK.
- Lordly, D. (2007). Once upon a time. . .. Storytelling to Enhance Teaching and Learning. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 68(1), 30–35. https://doi.org/10.3148/68.1.2007.30
- Campbell, J., & Moyers, B. D. (1988). The power of myth. New York: Doubleday
- Ross, S., PhD. (2020). The map to wholeness: Real-Life Stories of Crisis, Change, and Reinvention–Your Guide through the 13 Phases of Transformation. North Atlantic Books.
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