In the last Prime Good Dads blog, we used mirrors as a metaphor for the importance of self-reflection. Over-the-road drivers know a thing or two about mirrors. They serve as a powerful navigation tool, allowing drivers to monitor their surroundings. While many truck cabs lack the standard rearview mirror, the side mirrors serve as one of the most important tools in a truck driver’s arsenal.

While reflecting on the past, we rely on stories from our personal experiences and from the people that we know. Stories have been used to connect people of different walks of life for centuries. How can over-the-road fathers utilize this tool to bond with their families?

Don’t miss this week’s blog on the power of telling stories, both real and imaginary, featuring advice from the truck driver’s daughter!

Telling stories builds connections

We may chuckle (or roll our eyes) when an older family member begins a story with “back in my day,” but telling stories helps generations to connect with one another. They allow us to find common ground and learn more about each other, and we can gain a sense of understanding from the experience of others.

Telling stories also helps you bond with fellow over-the-road drivers. When we talked to Prime driver Marcel McDowell in a previous blog, we talked about how valuable it was having his driving instructor, Chad Mathews, in the cab with him to talk to while driving. The two bonded over being over-the-road dads, sharing stories about their wives and children. You can check out more of Marcel’s advice here.

Want to tell stories with your family, but don’t know where to start? Start by recording interesting things that happen while you’re on the road, by either writing it down or taking pictures. In a previous advice blog, we discussed the power of a stuffed animal. Taking pictures of the toy at different locations is another way to tell stories. Your kiddos will love seeing Teddy at the Appalachian Mountains or Hoover Dam or any other landmark your truck takes their dad.

You can also start a collection of souvenirs, such as pressed pennies and postcards, that tell stories of their own.

Stories teach valuable lessons

Children’s stories such as The Three Little Pigs or The Tortoise and the Hare have “morals of the story” that young children can learn and reflect in their lives. Likewise, you can use your own lived experience as teaching moments for your children.

My father once told me a story that stuck with me. When he was a kid, he and a few other kids in the neighborhood got hold of some firecrackers around the 4th of July. Incorrect handling of these firecrackers led to my father partially losing his hearing in one ear. Moral of the story: fireworks aren’t toys!

As an over-the-road dad, you have a plethora of stories and lessons learned from the road. Think back to when you were your child’s age. Is there anything you wish you were told then?

Children will make mistakes, but reflecting on what happened can prevent the same mistakes from being made in the future. Whether you’re teaching kids important values from your own life or fictional stories, they’ll appreciate you for it, even if they’re not old enough to articulate it yet. For more on learning from your mistakes, don’t miss the Good Dads blog Measure Twice, Learn Once.

Find ways for children to tell their own stories, real or imaginary

Want to help your child stretch their creative muscles? There are lots of creative ways children can tell a story. Is there a certain story you’ve told your child so many times, they can repeat it back? Do they have a particular interest, such as dinosaurs or horses? Use these as a jumping off point for your kiddos to tell stories, new and old.

While you’re over the road, tell stories together with your children. Together, you can cook up a fantastical saga of a winged tiger who goes on a perilous journey to the top of Big Cat Mountain!

Growing up, my sister and I loved to play dress-up with our dad. We loved Disney Princesses (we even named the family cat Jasmine because of this), and because we’d seen the movies so many times, we’d be able to play out the events of Snow White or Cinderella together. Talk about a great bonding opportunity!

Another fun game to play is “I’m going to the moon,” a memory exercise where family members take turns brainstorming silly items they’d bring on this pretend trip—a ham sandwich, snow skis, rainboots, and what have you. Listening skills are important to this game because, when it’s your turn, you have to repeat what others have said before you!

If you want your child to tell their own stories, ask open-ended questions. This prevents one-word responses and allows your child to build trust with you. I particularly love this Good Dads blog on the power of “No Consequence Questions.”

Don’t be afraid to embellish a little bit

One of my all-time favorite movies is Tim Burton’s Big Fish, and fatherhood happens to be one of its biggest themes. It’s about soon-to-be father Will Bloom’s relationship with his own dying father, Edward Bloom, and attempting to sort fact from fiction from all of the tall tales he told his son while growing up. While Will grows jaded, viewing these stories as nothing more than lies, Ed insists he’s been telling Will who he really is his entire life.

Throughout the movie, Will realizes that, while his father’s stories were embellished, they served as both a source of entertainment and a form of bonding with his child. There were more truths to the stories his father told than he realized. Will says, “a man tells his stories so many times that he becomes the stories. They live on after him, and in that way he becomes immortal.”

When I was little, my dad told me that when you let go of a balloon, it turns into a star. This led my sister and I to pointing at the stars in the night sky, claiming one or the other was our balloon that we lost that day.

Is this technically a lie? Sure, but you could argue that Santa and the Tooth Fairy are also lies. There’s truth in the stories though, just like in Big Fish, and they allow us to bond and carry the stories through for generations to come.

Final Words

In a previous blog post, I discussed using humor to bond over-the-road with my father. A huge part of sharing stories with your family is to both make new memories and bring back old ones, leading to lots of laughter while looking back in your rearview.

“You have the good memories that you want to hang on to,” Dad said. “Sometimes they can be suppressed with life. When your kids are able to ask you questions, to me, it helps to bring those memories back up, and they’re fun to talk about.”