Comments on: Old fairytales too ‘dark’ for modern mums

By: Pat

Pat — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:44:13 +0000

I hate the thought of us losing old fairy tales. Stories being passed on throughout the ages is part of our lives, our heritage. It didn’t harm me to hear these stories when I was little and I don’t think it will hurt our children. As adults, we need to chose the appropriate age when they can hear these stories and understand that they are just fairy tales.

By: AHERMITT

AHERMITT — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:13:24 +0000

I remember being very freaked out by these stories and didn’t offer the real versions to my kids until they were about 10, when they could really appreciate scary stuff.

I think it’s just a matter of age appropriateness.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:00:39 +0000

I get that parents might want to shelter their kids from various sorts of scary things. At the same time, though, these parents obviously still want their kids to engage with these “classic” stories. But the stories are classic in part *because* they are scary.

And that part – wanting to expose the kid to “the story”, but not the *actual* story – is a psychological quirk I admit I don’t really get.

By: Kids Like Being Scared | Mr. Bruno's Blog

Kids Like Being Scared | Mr. Bruno's Blog — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:54:41 +0000

[...] Are old fairytales too scary and creepy for kids? Personally, I always felt like the best kid stories were a little scary. There are the Brothers Grimm stories, obviously, but also stuff like Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Where the Wild Things Are. Share and Enjoy: [...]

By: Dal

Dal — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:39:07 +0000

And the feminist part is because, what, Gretel said it out loud? Or was the witch a patriarchical white man in drag?

Really, if Gretel said that out loud, and managed to push the witch in anyway, then the witch was way too stupid to live.

In answer to Ricki’s question, the standard Hansel and Gretel has Gretel acting stupid to con the witch into climbing into the oven, and when the witch is in there, she slams the door. Gretel’s cleverness saves her brother.

By: Parent2

Parent2 — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:18:51 +0000

Roald Dahl’s book, “Revolting Rhymes,” is a favorite with all my children.

“Oh piglet, you must never trust Young ladies from the upper crust…”

By: Bill Leonard

Bill Leonard — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:58:45 +0000

In kindergarten, I was frightened by Hansel and Gretel, I suspect because of the fear that many children have of being abandoned or given away; anybody else ever hear how naughty children would be sold to the gypsies?

Nevertheless, all the fairy tales were read to my kindergarten class. This was 1948, long before any thought of political correctness crept into the social discourse.

To be honest, some of the nursery rhymes were more terrifying yet. I vividly remember shivering when the teacher or someone else would recite Little Suckathumb. (For those reared in this kinder, gentler era, Little Suckathumb can’t stop sucking his thumb, and the Long Redlegged Scissorman whips out his shears and cuts off the offending member.)

Bill

By: deirdremundy

deirdremundy — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:36:57 +0000

I really dislike Jack and the Beanstalk— because in many versions Jack is rewarded for being a thief!

I read it to my 3 year old the other day and asked “Was it OK for Jack to take the goose and the harp?”

Her answer? “Yes, because the Giant wouldn’t share…”

Wow… at 3, my daughter is already a Marxist! I think we’ll skip JAck for a while…..

By: ricki

ricki — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:22:24 +0000

Wait…in the version of Hansel and Gretel my mom used to tell me, Gretel got hired on as the witch’s maid, and ultimately wound up tricking the witch into freeing her brother from the cage, and then they pushed the witch into the oven.

So my mom used a “feminist retelling” of the story? Or is the “typical” version one where the kids win via Gretel’s cleverness?

I don’t remember ever having a problem with “scary” fairy tales – from a fairly young age I knew they were just that, tales – not something real that could really happen.

I will say The Three Bears always bugged me a little, that Goldilocks could break and enter that way with absolutely no moral compunction against doing so…of course the bears chased her; they’re BEARS. They would have been within their rights to eat her, I think.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:34:17 +0000

In so many fairy tales, a young man leaves his home to seek his fortune (which could be changed in the re-telling, for daughters). The young person develops competence and mastery (without a Harvard degree or perfect SATS!) and overcomes, often through kindness or cleverness. Modern parents hate the idea that their kids will cease to need them.