The National Association for the Education of Young Children calls for early childhood practitioners to design learning experiences which are both culturally and individually relevant, all while working with parents in reciprocal ways to help all children learn. One intentional strategy for achieving this is the use of family storytelling. Family stories can be used to perpetuate the family legacy of positive character traits and values. Further, using family stories as a parenting practice has

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... positive outcomes such as giving guidance, establishing a sense of belonging, and bolstering emotional health. Additional evidence indicates that family storytelling can also have a positive impact on young children's literacy skills. Family stories have a long history and can cross socio-cultural, literacy, and language lines to potentially improve all types of families and family bonds worldwide. Strategies for families and teachers that will aid in collecting and sharing family stories are included. For many centuries, oral traditions have been passed down from one generation to the next to perpetuate cultural expectations, life lessons, and family legacies. A romantic image of the past may conjure up pictures of wise old people around a fire sharing tales of great hunts or cautionary tales designed to prevent the younger generation from repeating mistakes made by ancestors. In more recent times, the idea of family stories may invoke mental images of funerals where there is a tendency to share stories about the deceased or recall memories of grandparents telling stories to younger people as they did chores together. The authors propose that there is still a time, place, and purpose for oral storytelling even in today's more fast-paced world and that family stories can be an intentional part of the early childhood curriculum and parenting repertoire that builds skills, emotional health, and a family legacy that benefits young children.