Why do we teach children fairy tales?

Question

Just wondering. Everyone is depressed. Why? Because parents teach their children fairy tales! Happy Ever After? Get Married, Have kids, White Picket Fence? Then when your an adult, your disappointed that you failed to met these goals set upon you! Wouldn't people live their lives better and be less despressed if parents taught their kids the reality of life upfront instead of hidding behind fairy tale stories? Realistic expectations brings realistic goals and realistic statifaction in our lives! Tell me why you agree or disagree. Need some insight into my theory!

Answer 1

I agree with you; life is a beech. That is why we usually tell children fairy tales, we don’t want to expose them to the real world. Children are innocent and I guess we want them to stay that way for as long as possible.

Answer 2

I agree that life is not a fairy tale and it is the hard and bitter reality which is so opposed to fairy tales. But Dear, this is the very reason that fairy tales are so important to the child's psychological development.

Fairy tales are filled with PROMISE. That is their strength. The weak CAN become strong... Evil CAN be turned to good... the ugly CAN become beautiful... Each and every human being can rise to his or her TRUE POTENTIAL and stature. Even the smallest child can realize this and rejoice for future victories.

Fairy tales were created to provide entertainment and escape, having a type of “magical hold” on the imagination. They provide a view of the mysterious cosmic order. A child builds himself a world much like paradise.

Out of them grow the other subjects - painting, drawing, writing, and counting.

In a true fairy tale, such as those collected by the Brothers Grimm, human beings undergo trials and suffering and accept that deeds are a part of proving oneself worthy of the reward at the end of the path, whether the reward is the hand of the princess or a kingdom. They confront evil and overcome it.

Children experience the greed of the wolf and the evil of the witch quite differently than we adults do. They experience these qualities more as archetypal pictures about life, but do not yet identify themselves personally with the suffering. They trust that there will be a happy ending or that good will triumph over evil.

Such stories strengthen the moral lives of children, so that later, after these pictures have lived in them for many years as seeds, this strength and guidance will help them to deal with the challenges life brings to them.

Fairy tales are the end of the rainbow that each person must chase to keep up the optimism as they provide strength to help face the harsh reality.

Answer 3

Fairy tales are fun for kids but you should also teach fables... stories where there is a lesson to be learned. There;s a lot more to most fairy tales than just happily ever after. In fact, now that I think about it your question is based upon a false premise - that all fairy tales are is a bunch of fantasy tales with dreamlike endings. What about the wicked witches? The bad guys? Any good fairy tale has those... They are not ALL happy ALL the time. Read your kids the brothers Grimm then.

Answer 4

Well just like cartoons and movies children should be taught that it is make believe. Besides not ALL fairy tales are happy endings look at The Ginger Breadman..he gets eaten at the end! The Emperor's New Clothes, no happily ever after. The Tortoise and the Hare, Tortoise wins with hard work but no happily ever after. Plus depending how the story is told some of the stories do not always have a happily ever after just a the end.

Answer 5

Double-edged sword, there -- fairy tales were originally told to teach lessons on proper behavior. In their original form, people didn't always live happily ever after -- the Little Mermaid got to keep her legs, but for the rest of her life, it felt like she was walking on razors, and if I remember correctly, I think Cinderella's ugly stepsisters actually got killed in some horrific way, rather than just losing their chance at the prince. But they all had some sort of moral to the story, with the message that basically said, "Yeah, life sucks, and bad things sometimes happen to good people, but look how much worse it would be if you did THIS!" They teach an ethic that good things come to good people more often than they do to bad people, but a lot of us interpret it to mean that everybody who tries to do the right thing, works hard and loves their family will live happily ever after, and that's not the point they try to make. Fairy tales are meant to teach lessons in a way that children will understand.

Answer 6

Which fairy tale features a white picket fence?

Many fairy tales teach reality. Some are bloody and gory. "Goldilocks" shows what happens when you act like a spoiled little self-important and elitist b itch. In "Little Red Riding Hood," grandma gets EATEN by a wild animal. Although I think the hunter cuts the wolf open and saves the grandma. It's still gross.

Some nursery rhymes are also graphic. "Ring Around the Rosies" is about someone dying from bubonic plague. "Humpty Dumpty" is pretty bad. He has his guts spilled all over the place. In "Jack and Jill," Jack cracks his head open.

So the odd "and they lived happily ever after" is just for balance.

Love, Jack.

Answer 7

Great question. I learned long before adult~hood that faerie tales were just that...faeire tales, make believe. I think kids today gain that knowledge alot sooner than we did, we were able to hold our whimsy alot longer. Today's children are bombarded by so much negativity, I think a reprieve into a make~believe place of adventure in this crazy world is important. They dress up as princess, knights, dinosaurs, yet know they are not. I think we tell faerie tales so our children have a sense of imagination and hope. We as parents should encourage that, AS WELL as teaching them the truth about the world. It's big scary, exciting, intimidating, loving, hard.. they see all those things. They need to be prepared but with a feeling that all things are possible.

Answer 8

I believe that children need hope. If they start out knowing there is nothing good out there to attain they may just give up. I know from experience that if I didn't have hope from fairy tales like these I wouldn't be where I am today. I grew up with a drug addicted mother, parents divorced, then was homeless for 4 months. It was HARD. But I had hope, I knew that one day everything would be okay. I just needed to help my parents, and let them help me. If I didn't have that hope I would have probably become as drug addicted as my mom. But I have NEVER done drugs. I think that's a good reason to show children that anything is possible and not to be pessimistic.

Answer 9

Actually, many of the "real" fairy tales were pretty darn scary.
But I don't think fairy tales "hurt" most children (and, by the way, I also don't agree with "Everyone is depressed.")
It's good to have dreams, and who's to say what are "realistic expectations" and what aren't? That'll be different for every individual.

Answer 10

I think that being "realistic" to children will make them grow up more depressed. I can't imagine telling my three year old "Well, I'm sorry, but your mother left me so she could wh*re around town with every guy she meets. Your grandfather is sick and will probably die before you get to drive. Your uncle is overseas fighting a war and may get killed. Your father is depressed about your mother, he hates his job and his life and is doing everything he can to not fall into financial and emotional ruin. Get used to it. We're both in Sh*t Creek, here's your paddle, start rowing."

That's terrible. Let kids dream. Let them play and be happy. They don't have to worry about mortgage payments and ex-wives, there's no reason to make them try. Happy ever after IS possible, but only if you believe in it. If you give up from the start, you might as well not even try to be happy.