The Power Behind the Pages: Stories That Shape Emotional Wellbeing for Life

Did you know that story time is when our thinking mind quietens down and that messages from the story go straight to our subconscious mind?

This means, that stories are really powerful as our subconscious is where our beliefs are formed – which then create habits and influence the way we behave.

I know – scary, right?

No wonder it took me until the age of 53 to get married… I was always waiting for the ‘happily ever after!’

Before the age of 7, our brains are like sponges – I’m sure you’ve noticed this. Young children take everything in!

Using what they see, hear, feel, and sense around them, they decide what it means to them – which is not necessarily how you intended them to make sense of it.

This then shapes their habits, behaviours, and beliefs – forming the adults they eventually become.

“The first six years of a child’s life are spent in a hypnotic trance, just downloading the environment and programming the subconscious mind.”  Dr Bruce Lipton, Cell Biologist and Author of The Biology of Belief:

That’s why stories are incredibly powerful in early development. Quite honestly, I’m shocked by some of the stories out there, knowing that these underlying messages will be going straight into a child’s subconscious – without them, or more importantly the adults around them, even realising it.

Some stories, of course, are fantastic and deliver important messages from a young age. I’m sure Hans Christian Andersen knew this back in 1843 when The Ugly Duckling was first published. His story teaches children about self-acceptance – that true beauty and worth are not determined by appearance, but by our inner qualities and potential for growth.

Disney’s Cinderella, on the other hand, is open to interpretation. Do we really live happily ever after when our ‘prince’ comes along? Or is it setting us up to fail when it comes to romantic relationships? I know it did for me.

And what about the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella? Is that a message we should be embedding into our children’s subconscious – that they were mean and bullying? Or is it teaching children that if you're bad, you won’t get what you want? Stories open to interpretation leave children wide open to take whatever message they choose into the subconscious – and that message may not be empowering as they grow.

Don’t even get me started on Hansel and Gretel by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Still in print today, it tells the story of two young siblings abandoned in a forest by their impoverished parents, who are later captured by a witch who wants to eat them. Although the children outsmart the witch, I remember reading it to a friend’s young children and wanting to stop halfway through – hoping they didn’t notice.

You may think, What’s the harm in it? It’s just a story.

But if you don’t believe me, here’s what some of the experts are saying:

“Up until around age 7, children’s brains predominantly function in theta brainwave states, similar to a hypnotic trance. This means they are highly suggestible and absorb information from their environment like sponges.”– Dr Bruce Lipton, The Biology of Belief (2005)

“The human brain grows to about 90% of its adult size by age 6. During these early years, the brain is highly plastic and forms neural connections at a faster rate than at any other time in life.”– Harvard Center on the Developing Child – Early Childhood Brain Development

“Stories help us connect, understand emotions, and build resilience – especially important for children learning to navigate their inner worlds.”– Dr Brené Brown, Researcher, Storyteller, and Author

That’s why my stories are carefully written to send the right messages beneath the surface.

Alongside practical ways for children to self-regulate, they include subtle lessons – like Scaredy Bear hiding his feelings behind a mask, while his friends see beyond it and support him (a gentle reminder that things aren’t always as they seem, and that we often sense more than we know). Or when Fear, is sitting beside him on the raft, to show that feelings come and go – but they are not who we are.

There are helpful tips too, to support children in learning how to self-regulate.

In Scaredy Bear’s Courageous Tale, he changes his thoughts – which allows him to take the brave steps into the dark cave. He also takes long, slow, deep breaths that help him feel lighter as he lets the fear go.

In Sad Seal Saves the Day, Sad Seal opens up to his trusted friend Whale and tells him how he feels.

There’s also an important message about letting tears flow – and letting them go. Children often learn from a young age that emotions can be used to get what they want – and this can be carried into adulthood. Continuing to cry after the feeling has passed, for example, can become a way of gaining attention – because sometimes bad attention feels better than none at all.

That’s why I included the lines:

“Let the tears come, let them gently flow and once expressed, they’ll want to go. So let them go, so you can feel free –Then you can feel joy, calm and happy.”

And these are just a few examples! There are many more powerful, positive messages woven into the stories – and I love sharing them during my sessions, helping children (and adults) see emotions in a new, more helpful way.

So next time you pick up a story to read to young children, please check it out first. Make sure it’s going to programme the right message – and remember, if it’s open to interpretation, there’s a risk they may take something from it that you never intended.

Scaredy Bear’s Courageous Tale and Sad Seal Saves the Day are both available to buy on Amazon or via my website: www.rebeccabishop.org.uk