Folk and Fairy Tales

Folk and fairy tales help young children make sense of the world around them and
understand what it means to be a human being. The genre provides a unique way for children to
receive important information. However, some fairy tales are unrealistic and provide messages
that do not resonate with the dynamic world of today. The overall effect of folk and fairy tales is
positive, and they offer fundamental elements that foster child development. These tales offer
children information on how to deal with basic human desires, relationships, and conflicts in a
healthy way. The acquisition of these skills is fundamental in ensuring that a child lives a
fundamentally healthy and quality life and that they acquire positive values and beliefs that are
acceptable in today’s society. This paper argues that folk and fairy tales still hold relevance to
children’s development despite the changes that have taken place in today’s modern society.
Folk and fairy tales provide children with an opportunity to learn values, morals, and
positive behavior from the characters. Children tend to identify with certain characters in fairy
tales based on their life experiences. For example, a child who reads Cinderella and identifies
with her is likely to be inspired to be kind-hearted and persevere even when their world seems to
be turning upside down. Cinderella’s mother dies, and her father remarries. Her stepmother
mistreats her, and she has to live with her two very heartless step-sisters. However, Cinderella
meets her godmother, who rewards her meekness and persistence in the face of hardships. Such a

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story helps prepare children for life and the unforeseen eventualities that the future might
present. It also imparts them with values such as humility and perseverance.
Further, Cinderella’s story prepares children on how to safely get in touch with death and
danger-related anxieties. Tale-telling opens children to the possibilities of life. Although death is
an unpleasant topic, especially for children, it is sometimes inevitable. Children get an
opportunity to explore their anxieties. They learn that some events in life are sad but can still
happen either way. Cinderella is a tale that parses vital questions about family relations. The
small girl is a heroine because of her innate virtue. The cruel sisters are punished for the wrong
things they did to Cinderella, as seen here, “but Strong Wind, who knew of their cruelty,
resolved to punish them” (Hallett and Barbara 75). The story is relevant in today’s society, and
children can learn the importance of virtues as well as how to explore their anxieties in the face
of life’s unexpected events. Besides, the death of Cinderella’s mother can be compared to divorce
in today’s world. If a parent divorces and a child has to stay with a father who decides to remarry,
then the child may relate to Cinderella’s struggles.
Fairy tales are relevant today, and they are essential in shaping a child’s moral
development and consciousness. Fairy tales allow the child to explore the virtues presented
therein and the rewarding actions by looking at the fates of the different characters. The child
then deliberates each action and the consequences and then decides on actions that are
appropriate based on their own stance. Through tale-telling, a child gets exposure to ethical
reasoning. They understand the concept of ethics without having any adult insisting on the same.
Without actually being told so, the child learns about life, what matters and what is vanity. For
example, the tale Snow White teaches children about vanity. The lesson is that beauty is vanity.
The evil queen is obsessed with her beauty. She says to herself, “Mirror, Mirror, here I stand.

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Who is the fairest in the land?” (Hallett and Barbara 107). Her obsession eventually destroys her.
She danced until “she fell to the floor dead” (Hallett and Barbara 107).
Folk and fairy tales spark the creativity and imagination of young readers. The tales are
an effective tool for engaging children and driving their imagination. The virtues in the tales
have changed over time, and they keep changing depending on who is telling the tale. However,
some lessons remain intact. For example, the role of the family is emphasized in Cinderella. For
example, immediately after Cinderella’s mother died, there was pressure for her father to
remarry. He was hesitant at first and even said, “I shall never remarry. Stepmothers hate their
husband’s children even though their rivals are dead and buried” (Hallett and Barbara 68).
However, water wears the stone, and he eventually gives in and decides to marry again. With the
rising cases of divorce today, parents remarry afterward, and such tales prepare children for
changes in life even within their families.
In contrast, fairy tales have been said to be dangerous for children as they teach
destructive behavior patterns. For example, Susan Darker-Smith, a psychotherapist, argues that
fairy tales such as Cinderella may encourage children to stay in abusive relationships as they will
eventually be rewarded just like Cinderella. Children may thus adopt submissive behavior and
suffer within their relationships, hopeful for a better future. Darker argues that children are likely
to believe that “if their love is strong enough,” then they can change the other person’s behavior
and live happily ever after (Draker-Smith 35). Such beliefs are, however, destructive ad
unrealistic. They also do not have a place in today’s modern society.
In rebuttal, fairy tales prepare children for real life. For instance, Cinderella prepares a
child for life with a stepmother. It shows that it may not be the same as living with one’s
biological mother. Although a stepmother is not necessarily evil in our society today, the child is

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open to life’s events. Thus, fairy tales do prepare a child for the realities of life. Life is not all
smooth and fairy, and a child needs to be aware of this. Says that children should not be given a
false impression of life as that would feed them with the idea of escapism which is wrong. Life is
sometimes unfair, and death, evil, violence can all happen in one’s life (Lewis 5). Children need
to know that as these too exist in the modern world.
Overall, a lot has been said about fairy tales. The critics have argued against them by
stating that they were relevant centuries ago; times have changed, making them irrelevant to the
children of today. However, the themes contained in fairy tales are still relevant today. These
tales teach children about virtues, death, violence, and all these occur today; hence the tales are
relevant in the lives of children today. Besides, these tales tend to make children more creative
by sparking their imagination. It is evident that with increasing globalization and other events
such as divorce and changing definitions of family, these tales may not adequately prepare
children for life. However, there are themes within them that have withstood the test of time and
are relevant to children today.

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Works Cited

Darker-Smith, Susan. “Fairy tale Dangers.” Counselling & Psychotherapy Journal 16 (2005): 35.
Hallett, Martin, and Barbara Karasek, eds. Folk and fairy tales. Broadview Press,