Society

Disney launches online story-telling campaign

By  Chen Qide (China Daily Shanghai Bureau)
Updated: 2011-05-14 16:22

Disney initiates an online story-telling campaign in Shanghai on Saturday (May 14), with Sang Biao, associate dean of the School of Psychology and Cognitive Science at East China Normal University (left), and Yang Peng, China's first Disney author and well-known writer of children's literature (center), in attendance. [Photo provided by Disney]

SHANGHAI - Disney kicked off its online story-telling campaign in the city on Saturday aimed at reminding young mothers to spend more time telling stories to their children.

"Many children, who can't enjoy the pleasure of sitting with their mothers to listen to stories, have to resort to TV to meet their strong desire for knowledge and communication," said Keren Cheung, director of Disney Consumer Products Licensed Publishing China.

"Story-telling, a good tradition for nurturing children, can stimulate kids' imaginations and help teach them how to grow up," said Cheung.

Her words were echoed by Sang Biao, associate dean of the School of Psychology and Cognitive Science at East China Normal University, who said being a good person starts in childhood, to which story-telling can contribute.

"Although tape recorders and TV sets can tell stories to kids, they lack an affinity and mutual exchange compared with parents' story-telling," Sang said. "As a child, he/she desires to enjoy the pleasure of sitting by his/her parents to listen to their stories."

"We should pull children from machines back to their parents by continuing the story-telling tradition," said Yang Peng, a writer of children's literature and China's first Disney author.

Childhood is a golden time for cultivating people's imagination, creativity and expressiveness, and story-telling is one of the best ways to achieve that, he said.

Cheung said Disney has joined with www.babytree.com to initiate the four-week online story connection project in China by providing the beginning of the story entitled Dad in the Pocket as a starting point.

All the young mothers who are registered with the website can use their imagination to continue the story. The weekly winner will be the one chosen by online voters, including a judging panel of moms and "babytree gardeners", she said.