Role Models in Childrens Stories

[Sally44]

Something I was thinking about today.

I had read the story of Jack and the Bean Stalk to my son. On reading it, I became aware of the fact that this story is about a boy who doesn't listen to his mother and disobeys her, goes to another mans house and steals something to become rich, ends up killing the other person and the story seems to celebrate this!

Set me off thinking about others ie. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Why are the bears considered to be the bad ones? Goldilocks went into their house uninvited. Ate their food, and broke their furniture. Yet she is considered to be hard done by because the bears scared her??

So I did alot of checking with my son whilst reading this story as to what he thought about it.

But I thought I'd ask other parents what they think.

[lisac]

Ooo Sally , I'll ask my daughter if and when she returns, she is currently doing something on 'Fairytales' at University and has lots of opinions about this..

[Enid]

funny that sally! I was only talking about that this week, we are "doing" fairy tales at nursery this term, and after all these years of reading them to children, I suddenly saw that one story in a different light, have always thought it about goldilocks, and in fact in one of the versions we read at nursery it actually says she was a badly behaved child!. Makes you think dosnt it! Enid

[Kazzen161]

At the school where I work, we have used the Goldilocks story in letter writing. They had to reply (as Goldilocks' father) to Mr Bear, complaining about Goldilocks' bad behaviour.

 

Some nursery rhymes are just as bad eg: "here comes the chopper to chop off your head."

[bid]

Noooooo!!!

 

Leave traditional fairy tales and nursery rhymes alone!!

 

Bid

[chris54]

A lot of the fairy tails have in more recent times been tweaked to make them have HAPPY endings.

 

A lot of them were originally written to frighten children into being good or else.

[Canopus]

What is the purpose of Jack and the Beanstalk?

[Mumble]

A lot of the fairy tails have in more recent times been tweaked to make them have HAPPY endings.

I didn't know fairies had tails? Tweaked huh? With plaits and ribbons?

 

I used to love the Roald Dahl revolting rhymes when I was little where traditional stories are reworked.

 

[chris54]

I didn't know fairies had tails? Tweaked huh? With plaits and ribbons?

I could take offence at fun being made of my dyslexia but I wont.

[Mumble]

I could take offence at fun being made of my dyslexia but I wont.

Sorry Chris, I didn't mean to cause any offence, I didn't think.

 

[Sally44]

What is the purpose of Jack and the Beanstalk?

 

 

I really don't know. I always saw it as just a fun/scary story. But reading it with my son, and bearing in mind his literal interpretation of stuff, I thought "this is saying that disobedience, crime and murder pays".

I did check with him, and he did understand that stealing the hen that lays the golden egg, and the harp was wrong. But Jack does alright out of it doesn't he.

I'm not looking to change fairy tales, it was just a sudden realisation of how they are if you just take them on face value and sometimes I think that me and my son are on the same wavelength, and then he says or does something and I think, Oh no he isn't!