Change the end of the stories to avoid violent passages
The scene of a father reading a story his son before going to sleep is repeated in many homes throughout the world. The content of these stories is very diverse and ranges from the story of three little pigs who must build a house to protect themselves from the wolf to that of a young girl who must go to her grandmother's house with a basket of food.
Although they seem innocent narrations, some passages of these stories They can surprise the little ones enough, like the scene in which the wolf eats the Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother. Are children prepared to face these passages? Some parents think no and therefore try to rewrite these stories avoiding these situations.
Discrepancy of ideals
How do current parents confront the stories of the past? This question has been answered in the survey conducted by Music Magpie and One Poll, both entities have conducted a survey 2,000 parents where they sought their opinion on these classic stories and if they had altered on occasion passages to make them softer to their children.
One in four parents stated that they had changed a passage in a story on some occasion when they understood that it was too violent or surprising for their children. For its part, a 16% He claims to have banned this material in his house. Also they emphasize the discrepancies with some scenes shown in these popular narrations and that they confront with the values of these progenitors:
- 36% of parents disagree with the Hamelin flutist's deception to children.
- One in four parents believe it unfair that Cinderella was in charge of all household tasks.
- 27% of the parents surveyed do not believe that Robin Hood was a hero or a role model for his way of acting.
- One in four parents value the story of The Ugly Duckling as a story that favors bullying by accepting the protagonist only when it is beautiful.
- 27% of parents show their concern about the fact that Pinocho encourages children to lie.
Among the stories that most they change parents highlight Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel and the Ugly Duckling. In this list also appear classics such as Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast and Pinocchio. Those responsible for this survey point out that it is not surprising that many parents disagree with the stories in these stories as they were written years ago and that the values of society have changed. In fact many of the adaptations to the cinema of these stories have also been the focus of alterations.
Benefits of reading to children
Be they classic or current stories, the truth is that reading to the little ones in bed is an excellent idea. There are many benefits of dedicating time to this activity, these are some of the positive effects of the reservation of these moments at the end of the day:
- Learning new vocabulary. When the child is read, a long list of words is offered that favors the development of his vocabulary. Being close to the father helps the child know the meaning of these terms.
- Makes reading more attractive Having a pleasant memory of reading at these ages makes children more interested in books.
- It favors the bond between parents and children. Spending this time with the little ones is always a good idea, and sharing these moments with the books in between is a great idea to generate a strong bond between parents and children.
- Develop the imagination. The father reads, the child must imagine all the elements of this story and think about how these characters and their actions would be.
Damián Montero
