Reading stories aloud to children

[anthbrown84]

Hello all,

I am wondering what the stance is on reading a child a book. Like red riding hood, or any other fiction... Is this a lie?

I mean, there wasn't a Wolf dressed as a granny was there... So its not true??

Hmm... Please give your views on this

Anthony

[Sam Vara]

Hello all,

I am wondering what the stance is on reading a child a book. Like red riding hood, or any other fiction... Is this a lie?

I mean, there wasn't a Wolf dressed as a granny was there... So its not true??

Hmm... Please give your views on this

Anthony

My view on this is that reading books to children, including fiction books, is an indispensable part of my culture and the upbringing of children. I don't know what would happen to children who are not told stories, but I suspect that they would be diminished by it. It is not lying on the part of the reader, as there is no intention to convince the child that such events actually happened. The intention is (or should be) to stimulate the child's imagination and to foster a beneficial moral, emotional and cognitive development. As the great Catholic writer G. K. Chesterton almost said (the modern paraphrase actually captures it better):

Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.

[SarathW]

It is not lying on the part of the reader, as there is no intention to convince the child that such events actually happened.

Actually, there is an intention to lie especially cases like Santa.
In another point, we should not read books which contains violence.
I know a child who was distressed when he hears that wolf was treated badly in the three little pigs story.
I believe reading or telling lies encourage children to tell lies when they become adults.

[Volo]

I thought that children (even from quite early age) actually do understand that fairy tales are not true...

[Pondera]

Children should not have fun whatsoever. When they grow up they will not want to join the work force as they will have been preconditioned to think it is “boring”.

[justindesilva]

I thought that children (even from quite early age) actually do understand that fairy tales are not true...

When I was small I liked to listen to stories from illiiterate old grannys. They were wonderful story tellers. As I grew up I began to dis believe some of and yet I still love the story teller and the story. Some of the stories were from the Jataka katha ( story ) of the former lives of buddha.
I believe that still children psychology has not changed.
They will understand better with maturity.