Why do we read fairy tale to our children if we know that they can be frightening? Fairy tales help children develop, yes, I know that is hard to believe and the feminist of the world are screaming as I write this but fairy tales can be beneficial in the development of our children. Teaching children not just the evil gender roles pushed by society, but they teach children about the challenges of life. Let's face it, life is not all peaches and cream; there are many thorn laden roses in the world & children need to learn how to overcome the jabs of these thorns.
Bruno Bettelheim suggests, in his book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning andImportance of Fairy Tale, that fairy tales help to guide children toward
“self-identification” allowing them a chance to reduce fears and discomforts in
their world while learning problem solving skills and understanding that one
can overcome challenges if they work hard.
These tales from Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel & Gretel, and Bluebeard all show us a happy ending once our heroins have surpassed some type of challenge and only then will things go right. Fairy tales teach children the virtue of patience, all good things come to those who wait but they also teach them that waiting is not enough. We must take action and use our minds to achieve our goals and not be afraid to occasionally stray from the path. One thing I've noticed with all these tales is that happy endings only come to the "beauty" that must fight or go against what is expected of her before she gets her prince charming.
Once we set a plan in motion we must follow it through to the end because we all have our evil witches, ogres and wolves in our lives, challenges we face everyday but still we beat out these evil and have a better life for them just like in the fairy tales we grew up with.
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