Have you read aloud “Fairy Tales” to your child and wondered why they are so full of evil and sadness? Have you skipped over the bad parts or read them quickly? Have you hidden a book coz every time your child listens to a particular story, he/she cries? Have you wondered whether these “fairy tales” have a purpose?
Like most parents, I have read out Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel,etc to my daughter and have cringed at the description of the stepmother/stepsister/witch. I quickly look up to see whether Tricia’s eyes have teared up and her lips drooped down 
So, when these stories are meant for children why do they have to talk of evil spells and poisoned apples?
Stop for a minute and remind yourself how long the fairy tale has been with us – in every nation, in every culture and civilization. How and why has this tradition survived? Surely there must be a reason?
Well, the fairy tales re-enforces what the child has known all along and what we as parents and teachers have tried to shelter them from – that there is a cold, cruel world out there. And the world is just waiting to eat the child alive. Fortunately the fairy tale doesn’t end at this re-enforcement. It teaches the child that the good wins over the bad and if he/she has courage then he/she can overcome any obstacle in this world. It gives the child hope while acknowledging his fear. And by doing this, the fairy tale presents the child with a means by which he can understand the world and himself/herself.
It does not help to try and shelter the child from the dragons and the witches. For there are more than what the world needs out there. To send your child out into that world unprepared would be a crime.
Yes, the temptation is there to avoid reading books or tell stories where there is a problem, conflict or drama. But give in to that temptation and you will see that the child has lost interest in the books. Wonder why? Well, of all the things that we ask our books to be, few are as important as “believable”. Fairy tales, fiction, non-fiction, biographies- the only ones that work are the ones that are believable. A world that is “forever pink” doesn’t work because children eventually realize its fakery.
If only there were a happy ending at the end of each tale..
mYm
