Cinderella
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
Rapunzel
It has been revealed that most parents have stopped reading out fairy tales to their children. They think it is politically incorrect to read them out while some say they are frightening.
According to a poll carried out by TheBabyWebsite.com in 2009 with 3000 parents some strange things were discovered. Parents have decided to stop reading classic fairy tales because they were scary and politically incorrect. Read on further and you will know their reasons.
Parents explained that stories like Cinderella and Rapunzel would emotionally damage their kids. Rapunzel was considered too dark while Cinderella was treated like a slave. 1/3 of the parents refused to read Little Red Riding Hood to the kids because she walks through the woods all alone and finds her grandmother eaten by a wolf. While 1 out of 10 parents said that Snow White should be renamed because of the word "dwarf".
However, child development expert, Sally Blythe argues that by not reading out fairy tales parents are depriving the mental growth of their children because these stories teach them moral values. Kids learn the difference between right and wrong. These stories have helped kids previously in solving things through their own thinking and creativity rather than following some set instructions.
These stories prepare children for the realities of life not directly but through implications. They understand that strengths and weaknesses are a normal part of human nature. They understand the difference between good and evil, rich and poor, vanity and valour. Parents are hampering their growth by their decision to not read out classic fairy tales to their children.
Blythe went on to express in her book that fairy tales teach children that good should win over the bad. They learn the moral values from them and become strong enough to develop their lives by facing the realities.
She said the dwarfs in Snow White show that one must look beyond how one appears because what may not be so pleasant in appearance may be very kind from within in comparison to very beautiful people who might have ugly hearts. While in Goldylocks, the girl identified herself with the smallest and weakest of characters the most, which is perfectly normal. We must accept how we are. And Cinderella's story prepares children for life after your parent's death.
Well, I think Sally Blythe is pretty right when she says these stories do help children in better understanding of life. It builds a sensible side in them and not just make an instruction based robots out of kids. This is the reason why children are becoming so mean, selfish and materialistic perhaps in the younger generations. Maybe this is why kids today feel it is ok to do the wrong thing because it is so much easier and fun rather than being truthful and having some principles.
Parents really need to re-think their stance. I mean there must be a reason why these classics were taught and read to children for years and years. They worked fine on millions of kids before so what's so wrong with them now?
