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Should parents supervise
what their children
read?
Are nursery rhymes , fairy
tales
and
comics the type
of
material your children
should
read?
by
Gary Alexander and
Terry Warren
P
ROPONENTS
of fairy tales and nur–
sery rhymes are legion. To ask
whether fantasy literature -
including fairy tales, nursery rhymes,
even comic books - is good for chil–
dren is, in the eyes of many, comparable
to attacking motherhood or abolishing
apple pie. A whole body of Freudian–
Jungian theory is built around the
child's supposed need to escape into h is
own "individuation" through fantasy
and magic.
Books which Jaud fantasy have been
around for decades. "To cast out fairy
tales is to rob human beings of thei r
childhood," said one typical author
( Laura F. Kready,
A Swdy of Fairy
Tales,
page xv). Anothcr writes, "It is
probable that no other type of book has
done more to give genuine distinction
to children's literature than has fantasy"
(Elizabeth Nesbitt,
A Critica/ History
of Childmi'J Litemt11re,
p.
347) .
From toddler stage, youngsters read
about and are taught to believe in
magic, fairy tales, Santa Claus, and
every other superstition compiled over
the Jast 4000-years' evolution of folk–
magic tales.
Even many pop songs are an adoles–
cent extension of the philosophy taught
in pre-school fairy tales such as Cin–
derella, Snow White, Prince Charming.
But , are fairy tales, nursery rhymes
and comic books rea lly beneficia! - a
healthy supplement to your chi ld's
mental diet? Or does it makc any
difference?
What
Should VOUR
Children
Read?
Is there a cause-effect relationship
between what goes
into
the mind of
your child and what is expressed by his
personality and attitude?
Does this kind of reading material
help or hinder the development of good
character traits? And if fairy tales, nur–
sery rhymes or comic books, are
NOT
good for chi ldren, then what type of
literature
should
you allow your chi ld
to read ?
The Origin of Fai ry Tales
Let's begin by briefly describing what
fairy tales are and where they carne
f rom. We should, after all,
comider
the somee!
According to the
Oxford Dictionary
of Nrmery Rhymes,
the word "fairy" is
derived from the Latín word
fatmn
meaning "to enchant." The French
word
feerie
means "illusion," or that
which is unreal.
It
referred to a variety
of supernatural creatures who inhabited
a world known as "faierie" land.
The belief
in
"enchanted people" or
"fairies" was especially prevalent in
Celtic folklore. They were often called
"the little people."
These supernatural, demonic creatures
wo uld supposedly emerge out of
nowhere to abduct people or cattle.
They were also feared for their sup–
posed ability to cast spells. Mischievous
and very inconsistent in their conduct,
these fairies were ever vacillating
between the extremes of good and evil.
People tried hard to avoid angering
"the little people."
Jrish legend says that when the Judg–
ment Day arrives, these fairies will
"blow away like a st rong wind" while
"good humans" will go to glory.
The majority of the early fairy tales
and other types of folklore are the rem–
nants of nature myths, religious myth,
and rituals. Nursery rhymes have sim–
ilar tainted origins.
The "Value" of Nursery Rhymes?
lona and Peter Opie, in
The Oxford
Dírtío11ary of N11rsery Rhymes,
explain
where nursery rhymes carne frorn and
how they were "doctored" for pink
little ears:
"The overwhelming majority of nur–
sery rhymes were not in the first place
composed for children; io fact many are
survivors of an adult code of joviality,
and in their original wording were, by
present standards, strikingly
1111SIIitable
for 1heir tender years."
[Emphasis
ours. ] Many, they said, "carne out of
taverns and mug houses." Here, speak–
ing primarily of the drinking rhymes of
medieval Europe, is where the modern–
day style of nursery rhyme took root.
W ith such a h ighly dubious origin, it
would be a good idea to take a critica!
look at the "educational value" of such