7. We live in alienated times where the main problem is lack of time. Parents, especially in families where both parents build their careers, simply don't have enough time to be with their kids.
Many families in most developed countries can find only few minutes (!) per day for so important thing as building family bonds. With so little time it is so much more important to spend it wise. And what can be more genuine than storytelling with optional talk after the story ends? Fairy tales are great to make deep and powerful bonds for connecting generations.
With storytelling and talking about outcome of the fairy tale we can build solid cornerstones for decades of quality communication!
8. Sense of community is social, sociological and psychological concept, an invisible glue which holds together a lot of individuals and connect them in powerful unity where one plus one makes more than two. Sharing fairy tales and similar stories through different circles of the society we can feel how many similarities we really have no matter how different we look to each other at first sight.
European countries like Italy or Germany were build from many small entities with a help of fairy tales collectors!
(Image credit: Clker.com, PD licence)
I could go on and on with benefits of fairy tales and I bet you can add at least one more...
Well said, WriterArtist, I think the new trend is too focused on visual perception, so action is always first, story comes much later (if any) and moral (well, who cares about the moral in these times...). Fortunately I noticed some people openly oppose this trend and I have seen channels specialized for cartoons for kids without ANY violence and still great fun to watch.
And yes - I enjoy fairy tales as adult even more as I was as a kid!
Even as an adult, I enjoy fairy tales - I cannot agree with you more.
I just hate the violence and the gory stories that are telecasted on the channels, I wish it was more of anecdotes that contained moral lessons.
It is interesting how often we underestimate literature for children and how much it can offer (not all, of course) when we take time to actually open a book. It should really not be considered as mere entertainment.
Thanks, corrjo!
I was fortunate to take a children's literature course in University and I found it one of the most fascinating and rewarding classes that I have taken. Love fairy tales:)
Thanks, Mira, for your comment. About stories, you couldn't find elsewhere... There is huge archive of old books on several addresses on the web. Project Gutenberg would be a great place to start:)
I agree with the points you have highlighted. Fairy tales help children understand the way life works, with its sorrows, its trials, and the preseverance and difficult experiences that lead to success. It also helps them put themselves in the shoes of other people and see many points of view. I also think it's wonderful when people read these stories to their children or grandchildren, or when they memorize them and share them that way -- I have wonderful memories, for instance, of my grandmother, who told me stories I didn't even find elsewhere.
Thanks, Pinkchic18, I'll try my best:)
Great article! I agree, there are so many reasons to keep them going :)
You are right, sheilamarie.
Not only Cinderella (by the way, covered in one of my articles too), there are many themes, mostly dealing with growing up, taking responsibility, finding place in society, making friends...
I agree that reading fairy tales to children is very important. Some of the fairy tale themes are common to our humanity. For example, there are Cinderella stories in many many cultures of the world.