The Magic of Fairy Tales

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." 
-Albert Einstein-

​     The magic descends upon us on February 26th for Tell a Fairy Tale Day! This is one day that brings attention to the wonder and benefits of fairy tales. By reading a fairy tale to your child you will share the positive influence that these tales bring, not only to a child’s own life, but on their view of the world at large. Instinctively, we all know that a child needs to be exposed to the contrast of good and evil to send the message that good can and does prevail over evil. The best and easiest way for parents and educators to teach children these concepts is by reading fairy tales aloud. Unfortunately, many people feel a need to protect young children from the harshness of reality by sharing watered down versions of classic fairy tales, but theories argue that it is the very savageness of original fairy tales that will make a positive contribution to a child’s development. Children know that evil exists. What they need to be shown is that evil can be conquered (the wicked stepmother, the dragon, the witch etc.) and good can prevail. Eighteenth century German poet, philosopher and playwright Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller remarked that “deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in any truth that is taught in life.” And Mem Fox remarks in her book, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever, “If we sanitize everything children read, how much more shocking and confusing will the real world be when they finally have to face it?” In other words, fairy tales should open the door for deep discussions between you and your child and allow your child to dream and take risks within the safety of the story environment. 

Fairy tales…

• Offer a touch of magic and stir the imagination.
• Present a problem that is, if not totally relatable, at least understandable with simple, identifiable characters that typically must overcome a conflict. This conflict or challenge can also help some children process their own emotions. The fanciful plot with obstacles to overcome before returning to reality, and occasionally a happily-ever-after ending, offer the reader hope. As author Neil Gaiman said in his 2004 novel Coraline, “Fairy Tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
• Send an implied message and moral code that is communicated in such a way as to be clear to a child yet subtle enough to be exciting. The knowledge is imparted that even though bad things can happen to good people, decisions need to be made and in the end, things can turn out well.

​     Child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim explains a child’s need for magic in his book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales: “The fairy tale proceeds in a manner which conforms to the way a child thinks and experiences the world; this is why the fairy tale is so convincing to him. He can gain much better solace from a fairy tale than he can from an effort to comfort him based on adult reasoning and viewpoints. A child trusts what the fairy story tells, because its world view accords with his own.” 

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When reading a fairy tale…

• Take your lead from the listening child and let them be the one to initiate a discussion.
  
• Don’t lecture on the moral of the story. The message in the story will be clear though it may take more than one reading for a child to fully grasp the implied message.
  
• Include a variety of fairy tales, both classic originals and those that are reimagined (typically called fractured fairy tales). Just be sure your child has knowledge of the original tale before sharing a retelling or reinterpretation so they can glean the most enjoyment possible out of the reading.
  

​     Fairy tales are timeless stories with staying power, evident in the fact that they are told and retold time and time again over centuries. Fairy tales teach morals and values while enhancing the imagination and creativity that already exists naturally in children. So don’t just read a fairy tale on February 26th but include them as a read aloud option often to bring to life the magic of imaginative, faraway places where light triumphs over dark.

For further information on the benefits of reading fairy tales, check out 10 Reasons Why Kids Need to Read Non-Disney Fairy Tales from Brightly.

Also, take a look at our Fables, Folktales & Fairy Tales book list for some great titles to share.

Happy reading!

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