Should Kids Read Fairy Tales? The World of Black and White
Fairy tales might not be good for kids…
I love fairy tales. I was a little boy when my parents started reading fairy tales to me. I know every story the Grimm brothers have written upside down. But at some point in life, I started wondering if fairy tales are healthy for a child’s psychology.
The problem with this kind of story is that kids are introduced to one very unrealistic world. And when I say unrealistic, I don’t mean the part regarding magic and miracles. I speak about the world of black and white.
Dangers of Black and White
In all the fairy tales, let’s take Sleeping Beauty, for example, you have good guys and bad guys. Needless to say, there is a clear border between good and evil. Good guys do only good things and bad guys do only bad things. Of course, the characters might surprise us with some kind of ethical fluctuation, but they always quickly get back to their default track and keep sliding until the end. The problem with this is that it’s not how things work in the real world. Simply said, we are all both good and evil. We all have ups and downs. And most importantly, we all have reasons. Another important thing is that, in this world of ours, it is only on rare occasions that we are capable of distinguishing who is good and who is bad. And last but not the least, the good doesn’t always win.
Expectations — Should We Avoid Fairy Tales?
This is one of the reasons why I started inclining toward the attitude that fairy tales should not be read to young kids. Even though life will inevitably provide acknowledgments and teach us that the world is not black and white, there is a possibility of adopting the absolute way of thinking and perceiving on a subconscious level. People can turn into radical “Yes” or “No” types of persons. And these kinds of individuals can have extremely hard and unhappy lives. “This is good and I stick to it. This is bad and I discard it,” is a highly inflexible way of thinking that won’t get you far. It can make you judgy and induce you to push away people who would otherwise help you seize joy. It could also prevent you from looking at things from a different perspective and seizing opportunities.
What fairy tales avoid providing to their readers is the cause. There is a reason for everything. In the real world, nobody is evil just like that. People who do bad and even monstrous things have usually suffered a lot, grown up in terrible environments, been molested, etc… Fairy tales don’t mention their reasons. Cinderella’s stepmother and her daughters are just evil and they exploit poor Cinderella. The witch is just evil and the young prince is good, pretty, brave, and strong. He kills the dragon and wakes up the sleeping beauty with his kiss. The features of the characters are just too absolute and there is always one clear winner.
When combined, these effects can mold the chains of expectations which cannot be achieved and therefore will bring only sadness and hardships. However, when I thought a little better, I came to the conclusion that all these are exactly the reasons why children should read fairy tales.
Fairy Tales To Fight Indifference
While almost everything in life is relative the world of black-and-white fairy tales offer is a perfect step in fighting indifference. Despite the fact that too much fantasy might forge unrealistic expectations and illusions that are going to break causing pain, it is still a much better option than being indifferent right from the beginning.
You can’t introduce the concept of relativity to kids. There is a stage in life in which people should live through experiences in which they can clearly distinguish good from bad and take their side. The victory of good for which children cheer should teach them optimism and faith that what is right will always prevail. If we were to introduce the children to the concept of relativity right away there is a possibility that we would jeopardize their sensibility for ethics. It would be very dangerous to have a generation of people whose life philosophy is based on the idea that things are just the way they are. That could lead to a lack of fighting spirit and extinguish the fire of striving which is essential for making the world a better place.
Equally important is the fact that the truth will, after breaking illusions, allow kids to go through their first spiritual crisis. It is a great and valuable lesson to face the fact that you have been delusional. I say this because I remember how hard I cried upon realizing that Santa Claus isn’t real. The same applies to acknowledgment that good does not always prevail and that greatness isn’t achieved through an adventure but through the marathon of persistence and discipline directed to acquiring and developing skills within your profession. The world stopped being so colorful. There was a new hue of grey everywhere. With time, the hue faded but never fully disappeared. My old world was lost for good. However, imagine the level of hardships I would have encountered if I first faced this kind of crisis at the age of 20. Let alone 30. It is why I consider the pain of broken delusions very valuable, if not crucial, in the development of a child.
Conclusion
Due to all these facts, I will say, “Long live fairy tales!”
