It is difficult to find a classic children's story in which someone does not end up devoured as Little Red Riding Hoodthe wolf of The three Little Pigs or The Gingerbread Man. A study has just put figures to what many parents do: change the end or some parts of the story for considering them inappropriate or too cruel for our young children.
In addition to the endings of many of these stories resemble a horror movie (and this is not the best way to send children to bed), there are also values that are not consistent with our way of raising.
The wolf no longer eats Little Red Riding Hood
The study, conducted by the musicMagpie app, was conducted among 2,000 parents, who confessed to allowing certain literary licenses in one of every four stories that told their children to adapt them to their own beliefs and ideology or, simply, not to terrorize their little ones . 16% said they completely removed the classic stories from the children's bookshelf.
And, although these stories usually start well, for example, with the innocent Little Red Riding Hood walking through the forest in search of her grandmother, normally the thing ends up becoming ugly: the girl is devoured by the wolf and manages to escape when the hunter cuts her The gut with an ax. Similarly, the three little pigs say goodbye by killing a wolf and eating it. It's normal that Parents tend to soften these cruel and terrifying endings.
Politically incorrect
In addition to looking like a horror movie, traditional stories are also plagued by sexist, discriminatory or behavior that does not fit the family values we want to transfer to our children.
For example, Cinderella being forced by her stepmother to do all the housework or the kiss that the prince gave to Sleeping Beauty without her consent (since, as her name implies, she was sleeping), they are considered inappropriate by some parents. Others find that the story of Pinocchio encourages children to lie, that Robin Hood is not a good role model because he is a thief, or that The ugly Duckling It is a clear example of harassment and discrimination, since the poor animal only manages to be left alone when it becomes a swan.
"Some of these stories have existed for generations and many of them have been read to those of us who are parents now," explains Liam Howley, director of music marketing for Magpie, "but times have changed and there are many elements in these classic tales that for some they don't fit into society as they did before, "he adds.
The 10 stories that parents change most frequently when we tell them to our children are:
- Little Red Riding Hood
- The three Little Pigs
- The Gingerbread Man
- Hansel and Gretel
- The ugly Duckling
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Beauty and the Beast
- Cinderella
- Jack and the Beanstalk 10 Pinocchio
Disney had already done it
Although the parents of half the world sweeten the story of good night to our children, Disney takes the lead and has been sweeping the folk tales for decades. The original versions of most classic stories are even more cruel and politically incorrect.
For example, in the original version of Sleeping Beauty by the Italian writer Giambattista Basile, written in the 17th century, the protagonist gave birth to several children of the king while sleeping. In the story of Cinderella of the Grimm brothers, the queen was cannibal. The little mermaid Ariel, by Hans Christian Andersen, not only lost her voice, but her transformation into a human form caused her tremendous pain that in the end was useless, because the prince marries another and she is condemned to merge into the foam of the sea.
For parents who are not good at improvising endings, there is an adapted version of the classic stories called politically correct children's stories. Dads that you change the end of the story so as not to scare your children: You are not alone.
In Babies and more A mother proposes to eliminate the story of "Sleeping Beauty" by considering that it includes an inappropriate sexual message for children, Children's stories: educational or too cruel?
Politically correct children's stories (Gift) - 9788477651147
Today in Amazon for € 9.50
