Should we read fairy tales to children before bed?

For families with young children, a familiar and much-anticipated activity is listening to bedtime stories. This activity is highly regarded and has been practiced in most families around the world for centuries.

Fairy tales about princes rescuing princesses, fairies bringing miracles to good children, and bad guys always getting their just ends have followed children into their sleep.

Parents believe that telling stories to their children at bedtime will help nurture their souls, increase their imagination, thinking and compassion.

However, an article published in the newspaperIndependentA British newspaper recently caused controversy when it gave five reasons for parents to stop reading fairy tales to their children before bed.

According to this site, in fairy tales, women are often weak, passive and only saved by men. Some typical examples are Snow White, Sleeping Beauty or Beauty and the Beast.

"These stories unintentionally impose a heavy mindset on both genders, making them think that they can only live according to the available stereotype that women must be beautiful, gentle, waiting for men to come and save them. Men must be charming, worldly and have the strength and chivalry of princes," explained Dr. Victoria Showunmi - lecturer in gender studies at University College London, UK.

The second reason given is that every fairy tale always ends with the phrase "...and they lived happily ever after". It can be seen that a happy marriage is always the final reward, the expected ending.

In fact, the many changes in modern life have also led to changes in people's concept of happiness. Marriage is no longer the final destination of a love affair. More and more people, both men and women, choose to live a single life, free and dedicated to society.

Fairy tales that place marriage as the destination will create in children's minds a mindset that "marriage is a must" and see unmarried people as "abnormal".

"They will think that society has no place for people who are not married," said Dr. Showunmi.

In addition, the stereotypical elements often seen in fairy tale characters are often very beautiful: white skin, long hair, red lips, slim body, gentle personality and always a good person. Children will form in their thinking an ideal model, there is no room for skin colors other than white skin, no same-sex love, no fat or disabled people.

According to Dr. Showunmi, another big problem in fairy tales that deserves to be condemned is the creation of typical villains. They are usually stepmothers, cousins, elder brothers, rich guys... In reality, life is colorful, anyone can be a bad guy and not every stepmother is a witch, not every cousin is hateful.

After the article was published, many readers around the world expressed mixed reactions. One reader wrote: "I have two daughters. I read them fairy tales every night. Now they are grown up to be healthy, strong feminists without being passive at all."

Many others believe that fairy tales should be told to children because despite the negative stereotypes, these stories are more beneficial than letting them hold phones. Fairy tales are also part of creating beautiful childhood memories, making children altruistic, loving life and increasing their imaginative thinking.

On this issue, Donald Haase, author ofFairytales and FeminismEncourage parents to read fairy tales in a new way. That means not reading just anything but creating more situations, asking questions for children to think and answer.

It's a way to both educate children and capture their thoughts without losing the magical world of childhood.