Traditional fairy tales teach children moral lessons
Fairy tales give children an early sense of the world by teaching valuable moral lessons and the guidelines between good and evil.
<
(3 of 3)
The Argument
Traditional fairy tales are critical to a child’s moral development. When considering early fables as a type of fairy tale, the goal of the story is to teach a moral. These simple morals from fables like “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Ants and the Grasshopper” teach children valuable moral lessons that they can incorporate into their lives.[1] It is the simplicity of these stories that makes them easy to remember for children.
The concept of simplicity also applies to traditional fairy tales with princes and princesses. Most fairy tales share the same archetypes with the evil character, the damsel in distress, and the good hero of the story. While this may oversimplify some moral issues, it introduces children to moral truths.[2] It emphasizes the difference between good and evil and encourages the mindset that good will overcome evil.
Counter arguments
There should be more relevant stories to communicate morals. In a rapidly changing society, traditional fairy tales may not connect as well with children anymore. Rewriting fairy tales for a modern society encourages the teaching of moral truths in a more relevant way. While fairy tales may teach that good overcomes evil, a child may struggle to connect the story to the modern world. Therefore, a modern retelling of a fairy tale would be more effective in teaching children moral lessons.
Proponents
Premises
[P1] The simple structure of traditional fairy tales allows a platform for morals to be taught.
[P2] Children should be exposed to moral truths at a young age.
[P3] Therefore, traditional fairy tales should not be rewritten.