Why Scary Fairy Tales and Creepy Nursery Rhymes Work for Kids
Every parent who is familiar with contemporary children's literature and TV programs would certainly agree that in today's society the lack of violence and positive message are the matters of extreme importance.
Logic suggests that children's materials that vividly describe abusive and immoral behavior should be out of print. But surprisingly they are as popular as ever.
A Striking Difference Between Modern and Classic Children's Materials
When a parent browses through children's book section in a library or turns on "Sprout" (the most popular channel for preschoolers) the amount of positive messages that promote high morality and healthy life style is truly overwhelming
An absolute majority of characters is busy investing in team work, helping out classmates and senior citizens, pleasing their teachers and eating broccoli.
However, when one takes a look at Mother Goose Poems or Brothers' Grimm Fairy Tales the message is quite different. The behavior of everybody's favorite characters is for the most part extremely violent, immoral and abusive.
According to today's standards those plots belong in Freddy Kruger's movies rather than in children's literature.
The Horrifying Examples from Classic Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes
The adorable Three Blind Mice were victims of unimaginable animal abuse since "a farmer's wife cut their tails with a carving knife". It's even scarier to try to figure out how those mice became blind.
Humpty Dumpty has a really traumatic ending than involves fatality and complete hopelessness plus suggests that a citizen should not expect too much from the leadership of a country - " and all the king's horses and all the king's men could not put Humpty together again".
- Everybody's favorite lullaby "Rock – A- Bye-Baby on a Tree Top" is even too horrifying to analyze. If a modern poet would try to submit anything that even remotely resembles this poem to a publisher, he/she would be probably strongly advised to get a psychological expertise.
The classic fairy tales are no better at all. Let's have a look.
The Little Red Riding Hood was sent by her mother to walk alone through the woods. Isn't this a classic case that should be reported to authorities? To make things worse, the Mother knew that there are wolves in the forest, but that did not stop her.
Hansel and Gretel's parents who left their children in the woods hoping that the wild animals would eat them and then returned home (!) definitely deserve to serve time in jail. This is more than child abuse – this kind of behavior can be easily categorized as attempted murder.
As for Jack and the Beanstalk – the message of this old English fairy tale is that one can get away with stealing and manslaughter and live happily ever after.
The Truth Behind the Classics
According to Jerry Cleaver, an author and coach, a fictional character is only interesting if he/she wants something really bad and is full of inner conflict.
In addition Cleaver claims that "when characters are having a good time, the reader is not". The classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes fit these criteria perfectly. Hansel, Gretel , Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and even Three Blind Mice seem to be obsessed with their goals, have endless obstacles and are as far from having a good time as anyone can possibly be. Next to them Caillou, Barney, Dora the Explorer and Wonder Pets seem pale and inexpressive.
Moreover, they are also too perfect and thus are hard for children and parents to relate to. Their flaws ironically make characters closer to a reader (or watcher).
Today's popular children's characters are very unlikely to be remembered by future generations with one possible exception – The Cookie Monster – his incorrect English, eating disorder and addictive personality make him unforgettable, full of inner conflict and charmingly imperfect.
They may send a very odd perhaps alarming messages but its quite undeniable that a lot have fallen and loved these classics.
I can only say that we are more lucky to know the deeper meaning behind all of this because it's never too late I guess to spread the message.
RESOURCES
Jerry Cleaver - Immediate Fiction
The Complete Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm. London
IMAGE CREDITS
Images used on collages are grabbed from Google
Featured Image - Flickr
Some writers suggest that fairy tales are stories we have created to overcome deep-seated psychological fears transformed into the wolf or the witch or other scary creature or situation. I can see why they would have such a strong attraction, especially compared to the modern day morality tales! Interesting post, thank you.
Fairy tales used to be a lot cooler and grittier, that is for sure :) Nice point about Cookie Monster being an exception to the typical modern "cookie cutter" children's character (pun intended LOL).
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