Are fairy tales too scary for kids?
A new survey suggests that they are! The poll, by TheBabyWebsite suggests that a quarter of parents have ditched classics such as Snow White and Hansel and Gretl in favour of more modern bedtime tales. Apparently they don’t like the messages (leaving poor Hansel and his sister alone in the forest is a no no, as is sending Little Red Riding Hood on a journey alone through the woods – only to find out that granny has been eaten by a wolf!)
A fifth of parents said the tales weren’t politically correct (Cinders does too much cleaning up, I guess, while Jack climbs up a beanstalk and steals from the giant), and 17 percent worried about them giving their children nightmares (Snow White’s wicked witch is said to be too scary). Sixty five percent of parents said that they preferred to read their children more “light-hearted” stories at bedtime.
”Children love being read a variety of stories and it’s a great shame that so many of today’s PC mums and dads are rejecting fairy tales which have stood the test of time, entertaining children for hundreds or thousands of years,” said Nigel Crawford from the website.
Oh dear.
Fairy tales have been around for centuries, and with good reason. They contain the most essential element of a great story – especially good versus evil (with good, fortunately, always winning). Yes, they can be scary, but children love a bit of tension, especially when it gets resolved.
“How sad!” agrees Suzanne Carnell, Editorial Director of Children’s books at Pan Macmillan. They have a whole host of fairy tales in publication, including Lift-the-Flap Fairy Tales of The Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Billy Goats Gruff illustrated by the hugely successful Nick Sharratt.
“My take would be that fairy tales are a safe environment in which to explore a young child’s fears and that they are part of our heritage. They are also good stories, with a strong structure which works. Every young child loves a baddie, and the baddies do get their comeuppance.”
Former children’s laureate Michael Morpurgo recently published his version of Hansel and Gretl, so the market for fairy tales does definitely seem to exist. There is also an assumption that children know these stories. Otherwise, how would brilliant books like the Jolly Postman, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Book and the fabulous Mr Wolf’s Pancakes, work?
I say hurray for fairy tales, especially when they are revised (Cinderella and Snow White don’t have to be such wimps, do they?) I’m not a huge fan of Jack and his beanstalk, but that’s a small aside. There are so many ways these stories can be used, and so much depth to them (including the themes of wolves and lost parents). They are also so inspiring: after all, isn’t the Gruffalo a kind of modern fairy tale? And don’t let’s forget, where would Disney and the Christmas Panto be without these classics?
Times Online, January 13, 2009
Glossary
To dich: ejteni, elhagyni, eldobni
Comeuppance: negédemelt sors, büntetés
Laureate: koszorús író/költ?
Assumption: feltételezés
Kérdések:
- A felmérés eredményei szerint miért nem mesélnek már klasszikus meséket a szül?k gyermekeiknek?
- Hogyan érvel Suzanne Carnell a klasszikus történetek mellett?
- Mi mutatja, hogy van még remény a klasszikus mesék esetében?
Megoldások:
1. Több oka is van: nem szeretik a klasszikus mesék által közvetített üzeneteket, a mesék politikailag inkorrektek, ráadásul a szül?k aggódnak, hogy a mesék túl ijeszt?ek, és rémálmokat okozhatnak gyermekeiknek, ezért ?k inkább könnyedebb olvasmányokat választanak az elalváshoz.
2. Suzanne egyetért azzal a véleménnyel, hogy nem probléma a mesék ijeszt? hangulata, hiszen a gyerekek szeretik, ha a történetben van egy kis feszültség. Szerinte a klasszikus mesék által nyújtott biztonságos környezet jó lehet?ség a gyerekeknek, hogy megismerjék félelmeiket. Emellett ezek egyszer?en jó kis történetek is.
3. Több régi mesét is újra kiadtak, köztük a Hansel and Gretl, a Cinderella és a Snow White cím? könyveket is. Emellett feltételezhet?, hogy a gyerekek igenis ismerik ezeket a meséket.
