The Importance of Fairytales
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Many cultures share common fairy tales like Red Riding Hood, with their own cultural flavor. In many oral traditions, magical stories were enjoyed by listeners young and old alike. We listen to and read the versions and know we all share something important, the need to make sense of life with story, and the hope for good to triumph over evil.
Fairy Tales Show Us Many things
Fairytales show us many worldly common truths regarding the world around us in a simple manner. Yes, we are reading a story. But there is much more going on than we may realize.
How to Handle Problems and Build Resiliency
Fairy tales and fantasy stories transport the reader into other worlds that are fresh with wonder, surprise, and danger. They challenge the reader to make sense out of those other worlds, to navigate their way through them, and to imagine themselves in the place of the heroes and heroines who populate those worlds. The safety and assurance of these imaginative adventures is that risks can be taken without having to endure all of the consequences of failure, while still receiving the lessons; the joy is in discovering how these risky adventures might eventuate in satisfactory and happy outcomes. Yet the concept of self is transformed. The images and metaphors in these stories stay with the reader, even after they have returned to the “real” world.
We learn from the characters in stories, as kids and even as adults. They help us because we connect to our own lives, dreams, anxieties, and consider what we would do in their shoes. Fairy tales help us learn how to navigate life.
Fairy tales show real life issues in a fantastical scenario where most often the hero triumphs. (Except in Grimm originals.) It is important to discover in a safe environment that bad things happen to everyone. Because guess what? No one in life is immune from challenges — so we need to build emotional muscles so we can hang on during tough times so we ca handle anything that requires strength.
They Teach Story Structure
Fairy tales are understanding the basics of a story — setting, characters, and plot (rising action, climax, and resolution) as well as the difference between fiction and non-fiction. Once a child understands story structure, it supports his ability to make predictions and comprehend other stories he’s reading.
Fairy Tales are great tools for learning about story development, conflict resolution, the development of characters, heroes and villains and simply broadening our imagination. Furthermore, it helps us differentiate fiction to non-fiction stories.
Ohhh Imagination (my favorite)
Fairy tales are crucial to the development of imagination. They show worldly common truths regarding the world around us in a simple manner. Tales and stories introduce the meaning of existence. Although fairy tales are unrealistic, they show decisive and strong messages regarding the world. It encourages understanding. They teach us the importance of virtues, important lessons, critical thinking, imagination, etc. They are a way of passing information from generation to generation, which makes humans so smart.
“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.”
― Albert Einstein
“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
Moral Compass
The great fairy tales and children’s fantasy stories attractively depict character and virtue. In these stories the virtues glimmer as if in a looking glass, and wickedness and deception are unmasked of their pretensions to goodness and truth. The stories make us face the unvarnished truth about ourselves and compel us to consider what kind of people we want to be.
Through the ages, the causes and effects have been consistently at work. A fairy tale has always been influenced by society, becoming a mirror of our society at that moment. From traditional oral tellings to the written literacy tale, to now films, fairy tales are carried by the new medium to be passed on to the next generation. Only to be changed yet again to reflect the future society and include an influential message.
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