Why fantasy and fairy stories are good for kids?

 

The Miriam Webster Dictionary defines a child as a young person, especially between infancy and puberty and a young adult as: of, relating to, or being a category of fiction that is primarily intended for adolescent readers. In this article, when referring to children and Young Adults, these are the intended meanings (Dictionary, 2022).

As a mother, avid reader, English language teacher and most importantly, a Reformed Protestant Christian, I have always held the conviction that it is vital to a child and young adult’s development, both intellectually, emotionally and socially, to read and interact with as much variety in their reading diet as possible. I especially think that exposure to good quality fantasy and fairytales is essential (yes even Disney). This I feel is true for children in general but especially for Christian children.

I have found when teaching that if a child has no fantasy/fairytale in their life, it is difficult for them to imagine the images described in books and poems.  To imagine something, you need an essential background to refer to for your mental images to come to life.  Such children may grow to be adults who cannot understand the pull of animation and fantasy stories or films, seeing them as frivolous and a waste of time.  They instead read and watch programs based on reality or, better yet, true crime.

I hope to achieve with this article to provide enough information on why fantasy is necessary for growing children and young adults.

In her 2016 article Leilani Visikoknox-Johnson states that fantasy and especially fairy tales help young children to make sense of what being human is like and aids in their understanding of the world around them (VisikoKnox-Johnson, 2016).

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” 
― Albert Einstein.

Storytelling and play-acting (imaginative play) fill an important space in developing a child’s Early Literacy development (nepeantutoring, 2022). Furthermore, when a child hears a story of the fantastical, he realizes that in his imagination, anything is possible. By having a conversation about the similarities and differences between the real world and the imaginary one in a story, children learn to discern between what is real and what’s not. Apart from this, children also build their vocabulary by listening to stories.

Fantasy and fairy tales give a child the opportunity to have an exciting life where magic exists, and you can overcome any obstacle placed in your path.  It teaches children how to manage circumstances in the real world. How to realize that the bully is just a sad and lonely child and needs to be loved (while either standing up to him or running to improve your athletic skills).

Allowing and encouraging the young reader to read fantasy will help them view the world in different ways and pick up on the indirect literary (metaphors, allegory and parable) methods used by the author and develop a love for language while dealing with moral questions in an informal way (Flanagan, 2014) because that is the point of fairy

tale and fantasy.  They give children and young adults the opportunity to see what a world looks like when a corrupt leader oppresses people and what happens when action is taken, even if that action is doing nothing. All actions have consequences and emotions that follow.

Now the argument for reading fantasy has been stated the next big thing, if not the most important, is whether Christian children should be reading fantasy.

My main concern is that many young readers venture into the fantasy genre without knowing the difference between the real world and the imaginary world where fantasy takes place.  Many parents do not want their children to read fantasy because they do not know what it is or know how to discern between the real world and fantasy themselves and have not taught their children how to discern it.

Brian Tubbs, an Author, Blogger, Pastor, and fantasy lover, makes the following statement in his 2017 article, with which I wholeheartedly agree.

 “Are all fantasy or sci-fi novels acceptable in God’s eyes? Of course not. But that can be said of other genres as well. Christians need to exercise the same amount of discretion when it comes to fantasy as they do when it comes to any literature. Some fantasy stories are clean, fun, and perfectly harmless. Others should be avoided. And the same is true for any genre of literature, including science-fiction, historical fiction, romance, westerns, thrillers, mysteries, and so forth. Some books are fine to read; others, not so much.” (Tubbs, 2017)

We, as Christian parents, need to teach our children how to discern between what is real and what is not and help them in their spiritual growth.  When a child knows who he is in Christ, he will have the ability to discern whether he can read fantasy or not.

As a parent, it is important to know what your child is reading and when a warning about a book or author should be given. This is true about everything your child reads not, only fantasy.