ABSTRACT
There is no such thing as a born storyteller. Rather, narrative skills are shaped by many inXuences, and one of the most important is the sort of habitual verbal interaction that takes place between parents and children. From the time they are born, children are immersed in a world of narration (Miller, 1994). Parents frequently tell narratives to each other about themselves and about their children. In fact, probably everyone in the child’s environment exchanges stories every day about themselves and other people, both present and absent. And as other authors in this book make clear, narratives are characteristic of every stage of a person’s life, from early childhood to old age. But parents in particular have an important inXuence on children’s narrative skills because of how much time they spend with their children as well as how strongly attached they are to each other.
