Fairy Tales Have a Negative Impact on the Development of Children. (n.d.).

Retrieved March

01, 2018, from https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Fairy-Tales-Have-a-Negative-Impact-on-

PKCNF7YYVJ

1 This article demonstrates the main points made by Bruno Bettelheim in “The Uses of

Enchantment.” Some of these points include the belief that children should be exposed to the

hardships of life at an early age so that they learn how to rely on themselves for aid, instead of

others. He also points out that, since many fairy tales do result in a “happily ever after”, children

will be expecting a life of magic and miracles, when the author suggests that a life not expecting

these things would be more beneficial to the child in the long run.

This source contradicts the information found in my other sources and provides a

differing perspective on the issue I am discussing. The author suggests that introducing children

to fairy tales is giving them a false sense of reality, in that they need to learn how to cope with

hardship and obstacles early on, which will prepare them for the “real world”. Also that fairy tales

further stereotype gender roles and the “happily-ever-after” which is far from reality, according to

the author.

(Irene), K. V. (2016). The Child and the Fairy Tale: The Psychological Perspective of Children’s

Literature. International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics, 2(4), 213-218.

doi:10.18178/ijlll.2016.2.4.98

2 Throughout this article, the author discusses the definition of fairy tales, the religious

context of fairy tales, and the importance of traditional stories and fairy tales in the lives of

children. The author makes a point that “children can learn that it is inevitable for one to fight

against the difficulties of life and that these can be overcome”, which is vital to the growth of

problem solving capabilities and an overall positive outlook on life. There is also a distinction to

be made between good and bad in children’s stories, easily allowing them to “identify with the

good and reject the bad” that they encounter in these stories.
 This source will hopefully increase the credibility of my argument and research overall,

as it is from a credible scientific journal. From this article I can draw the conclusion that fairy

tales are extremely necessary for the development of the imagination of children and greatly

contribute to the development of moral character as the morals and universal truths portrayed in

these stories help children make sense of the world around them.

Influence of Fairy Tales on Children. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2018, from

https://aptparenting.com/influence-of-fairy-tales-on-children

3 The points of opening minds, teaching morals and values, inspiration, and encouraging

hope are all mentioned and correlated with the exposure to fairy tales, according to this source.

It is repeatedly stated that fairy tales capture the minds of young readers. This allows parents

and teachers to instill a sense of wonder and engagement, in their children, thus allowing

parents to more easily teach lessons to their children that they might be more hesitant to teach

otherwise. Another point made within this article is the idea that fairy tales provide a source of

learning for children that cannot be taught by parents, but only learnt from previous experience

and the experience of others.

This source gives a parents perspective on the controversial issue of the introduction of

fairy tales to young children. This article says that fairy tales are a source of happiness and

optimism that can greatly impact a child’s motivation, as well as expanding the minds of children

to accept all types of people that are portrayed throughout these types of stories. This source

allows me to add greater depth to perspectives already made in previous articles.

Leeuw, R. N., & Laan, C. A. (2017). Helping behavior in Disney animated movies and children’s

helping behavior in the Netherlands. Journal of Children and Media, 12(2), 159-174.

doi:10.1080/17482798.2017.1409245
4 This article describes a study done by medical psychologists to determine if exposure to

Disney movies specifically impact the way small children interact with their friends. One hundred

and thirteen Dutch children were observed throughout this experiment and were documented as

showing a greater amount of prosocial behavior after viewing clips of Disney movies that

depicted similar prosocial behavior. According to this study, prosocial behavior is seven times

more likely to be shown per minute in any Disney movie than any other children’s television

show. Though this article did address the negative feedback that many Disney movies do

receive, its purpose was to highlight the positive impacts that Disney movies can have on a

child’s social interactions and behaviors.

This article is from an extremely credible journal and discusses a scientific experiment

done testing children’s moral behavior after exposure to Disney content. According to the

source, “Disney movies inspire at least as much cultural authority and legitimacy for educating

specific roles, values, and ideals as other important socialization sources, such as the family

and schools.” Though the article does address the negative backlash that Disney has received

for some its content, the article highlights the benefits of exposure of young children to Disney

movies.

Paquette, D. (2016, June 22). The unexpected way Disney princesses affect little boys.

Retrieved March 27, 2018, from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/22/what-little-boys-can-learn-from-

disney-princesses/?utm_term=.461323eb5c6a

5 This article provides the differences between young girls and young boys who are

exposed to Disney movies at an early age. It is seen that the young girls demonstrate behavior

of stereotypical “girl behavior” such as playing with dolls and playing house etc.; however, it is

also noted that it had a more “moderating impact” on boys. This exposure to Disney movies

caused young boys to exert more balanced interests among the traditional boy toys and the
traditional girl toys, as well as being more likely to show compassion towards their friends and

family.

This source provides a differing parent opinion to the previous source, in that it supports

the introduction of Disney stories in to the lives of young boys as “it had a moderating effect on

boys, such as making them more helpful with classmates”. Though this source does

acknowledge the adverse impacts of Disney stories on the lives of young girls as well. I think

this source will benefit my research by giving a differing opinion on a previously discussed

issue.

Salyer, K. (2016, June 22). New Study on the Potential Problem With Disney Princesses.

Retrieved March 27, 2018, from http://time.com/4378119/disney-princess-effect-on-girls/

6 Family-life professor at Brigham Young University, Sarah M. Coyne, conducted an

experiment to determine if exposure to Disney movies established more stereotypical feminine

behavior. From this study, it was concluded that it is best to expose young children to Disney

movies in moderate amounts as too much or too little could harm their self-esteem or their

connections with others.

This article focuses on the parental aspects of the introduction and how viewing disney

princess movies in particular influences gender stereotypical behavior among young children.

Many parents claim that by exposing young girls to these kinds of role models they are

subjecting them to a lifetime of possible eating disorders, confidence issues, and depression.

This information greatly contradicts some of my other sources and I think will be a good

perspective to introduce in my project.

T. (2014, December 07). Retrieved April 13, 2018, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBLjvibxr0Y

7 Throughout this video Xandra discusses the challenges she faced throughout her
childhood, specifically the challenges associated with constantly moving. She elaborates on her

moving experiences and how having someone, Harry Potter, to bring with her meant that she

always had a friend or someone she could count on. Harry Potter gave her the confidence to

navigate these new situations when she was struggling with everything else. She talks about

how the magical world of fantasy stories allowed her to believe that she was special and that

she had the ability to be more than herself.

This video shows a first person experience of a student named, Xandra Burns, who used

Harry Potter to cope with the struggles of her childhood. This source will benefit my research

because it is a real story instead of a hypothetical situation, which is described in many of my

other sources. Xandra’s story supports the belief that exposure to fantasy stories helps children

discover ways in which to cope with problems in their everyday life.

T. (2014, December 07). Retrieved April 13, 2018,

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBLjvibxr0Y

8 The speaker begins by discussing the inevitability of the future and the unknown

circumstances that come with it. He states that it is only with creativity that we can be able to

comprehend the future. However, even this is not enough to produce an education system that

does not squash the creativity in the minds of children. He believes that literacy and creativity

should be held to the same standards, though they are currently drastically different. He

discusses how children are willing to stray from the norm, to take a chance, and that is

squandered through our current education system, which is extremely detrimental to the

creativity of individuals in the future.

This video focuses on the creativity that is currently encouraged at school, which is

hardly any. The speaker discusses how the creativity of children has the potential to grow and

thrive, though at the same time it is being shoved down into a box of “being right” or accurate

instead of thinking outside of the box and not being scared to be wrong. He specifically says
that we are being educated out of creativity which I think is vital to the introduction of fantasy

and disney stories into the lives of young children. This will benefit my research by focusing

more on the creativity aspect of my essential question rather than life as a whole.

Watching "Harry Potter" Enhances Creativity. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2018, from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psyched/201310/watching-harry-potter-enhances-

creativity

9 The study done by Eugene Subbotsky on four, six, and eight year old children was done

by asking children to find alternative uses for a plastic cup and drawing imaginary objects. This

was considered the baseline for creativity in each child. After these tasks were completed all of

the children watched a fifteen minute clip from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Half of the

children viewed a clip where magical elements were present and the other half watched a clip in

which they were not. Then each child was asked to do similar tasks to the ones they completed

before the video clip. The psychologists found that the exposure to magical elements greatly

increased the creativity of the children being tested.

This study demonstrates a direct correlation between watching clips of harry potter with

magic and creativity; this can be applied to all movies and television shows with magic. By

introducing magic and things outside of ‘average” capability children begin to think more

creatively and thus are able to better solve problems and find easier solutions. This was done

with children ranging from four to eight years old and all groups expressed the same growth in

creativity after watching clips of magic, thus aiding the belief that fantasy and magical stories

help the creativity of young children.

5 Reasons why fairy tales are good for children. (2016, January 21). Retrieved February 26,

2018, from http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/blog/reading/2014/06/5-reasons-why-fairy-tales-

are-good-for-children
10 This article opposes the claims made by another writer, Richard Dawkins, that fairy

tales are harmful for children. This source promotes that fairy tales spark a sense of right and

wrong in young children that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. As many stories

do contain this sort of moral component, these stories allow children to create their own ideas of

right and wrong, even though it may simultaneously create a false sense of perfection in the

world.

This source shares the same perspective as the other articles, in that it fully supports the

publication and introduction of fairy tales into the lives of young children. This is beneficial to my

research in that it provides multiple clearly stated points and elaborates further on elements that

I have found in previous articles. Although this article shares the same perspective as other

articles, it differs in that it is in rebuttal to a perspective that does not view fairy tales in a positive

light.

Influence of Fairy Tales on Children. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15745/1/influence-of-fairy-tales-on-children.html

11 This article addresses negative consequences of exposure to fairy tales. These include

similar points to other articles such as self-image and reality, and different points like a greater

susceptibility to nightmares, hero complexes, and gender stereotypes. In many stories the hero

complex and the role of women come into competition with one another. This also supports the

belief that an exposure to fairy tales creates a false hope for a “happily ever after”, which is not

likely to occur and thus would be a disappointment for many young children.

As this article does not support exposure to fairy tales, it differs from many of my other

sources. This benefits my research because the points made by the author do not align with

previous perspectives that I have found. With this addition to my research the reader will gain a

more even understanding of both support and rejection of the belief that fairy tales may benefit

the creativity and life of children as a whole.

Loder, V. (2015, April 26). Why Fairy Tales Are Bad For Our Kids. Retrieved from

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanessa-loder/why-fairy-tales-are-bad-for-our-

kids_b_6736634.html

12 This is an opinion article highlighting the impact that modern fairy tales have on the lives

of children and their expectations for life in the future. The parent who wrote the article

expresses a deep concern that the censoring of children fairy tales has left them susceptible to

completely unrealistic expectations of happiness and life as an adult. The tells a story of when

she began reading her very own daughter Disney fairy tales, that spoke of lands far far away

and happily ever afters, compared to the Brothers Grimm fairy tale book she was read as a

child. She also points out the fact that fairy tales portray suffering as very one sided, with little or

no support, which is uncommon nowadays. She emphasized that it was more appropriate to say

“they did live happily ever after, but more importantly, they lived”.

This article was written by a parent, which is a new perspective for my research, which

will add a more personal note compared to the many psychologists and news writers that have

researched this topic previously. This perspective will hopefully add greater variety to my

research and allow me to learn more about how fairy tales impact the personal lives of children

and their behavior compared to what a psychologist believes happens. This will add new

dimension to my project and allow me to add greater detail to points that have been made in

other articles.