My thesis for the research paper is that fairytales are beneficial in the development of children’s imagination, creativity and individual growth. story time can help children understand the complexities of relationships, as well as imagination and creative growth. List A provides “the positive impacts of fairytales for children” by Leilani Visikoknox – Johnson. Johnson goes on to explain how Therapist use fairytales when working with children to study their emotional response. Visikoknox states “this provides a great way of accessing children’s imagination by exploring memories of fairytales and using them to adjust, painful and unsettling issues in a non-threatening playful manner.” This helps me to understand how fairytales are not only an educational tool, but a developmental safe space for children and their growing complex emotions.
From list B the article “why fairytales matter” by Maria Tate spoke to me specifically for its attention to the emotional development of children with the use of fairytales. Mariah explains how fairytales can help children process and understand complex adult issues. She puts it “Fairy tales connect with all kinds of adult secrets… They tell children about death, which is something that adults talk about in hushed tones.” Complex issues that are sometimes too intricate to be explained, or sometimes more palatable through fairytales.
