fairy tales a compass for children_s healthy development - a qualitative study in a greek island(1)

Fairy tales: a compass for children’s healthydevelopment – a qualitative study in a Greek islandcch_1216 266..272

P. Tsitsani,* S. Psyllidou,* S. P. Batzios,† S. Livas,‡ M. Ouranos* and D. Cassimos§

*Department of Paediatrics, General Hospital of Kos, Kos†First Department of Paediatrics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hippokratio General Hospital, Thessaloniki‡Department of Foreign Languages, Ionian University, Corfu, and§Department of Paediatrics, Democritus University of Thrace, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupolis, Greece

Accepted for publication 17 December 2010

Keywordschildren’s preferences,fairy tales, parents’perception, storytelling,villains

Correspondence:Pelagia Tsitsani,Department ofPaediatrics, GeneralHospital of Didimoteiho,25th May 152 Street,Didimoteiho PC 68300,North Evros, GreeceE-mail:[email protected]

AbstractBackground Fairy tales have always been an integrated part of children’s everyday life. In our days,

they still represent important ways of helping the children share their desires and express their

agonies and inner conflicts. The present descriptive qualitative study aims to describe parents’

opinions and children’s preferences regarding storytelling.

Methods Four hundred and seventy parents took part in the study and were interviewed

following a semi-structured guide with open-ended trigger questions. Data were processed via

content analysis methods.

Results Three main themes were constructed. The vast majority of interviewees acknowledged

their strong belief in the power of fairy tales and stated that their children listen to stories at least

once a week. Most of them use storytelling as an instructive tool, in order to soothe their children’s

anxieties or set examples for them. Concerning children’s preferences, the majority of them choose

classic fairy tales over modern ones with Little Red Riding Hood taking precedence over other

famous stories. All participants acknowledged the fact that their children are amused and positively

affected by storytelling, while young readers share their enthusiasm for fairy tales in many ways,

mostly by talking about their favourite character. Finally, in relation to the villains, children seem to

be satisfied or relieved when they are punished and only a small number of participants stated that

the cruel punishment of bad characters creates feelings of fear to their kids.

Conclusions The findings of this study emphasize the crucial role that storytelling plays in

children’s life and normal development.

Introduction

Stories have been used for centuries as means for passing

common wisdom and knowledge from one generation to the

next, stressing values and manners of the time and place in

which they were initially recorded (Zipes 1988). Founded upon

the oral tradition of village lore and country fables, modern

fairy tales can be traced back to the 18th and 19th centuries,

with Charles Perrault, the Grimm brothers and Hans Christian

Andersen, representing some of the most important pioneers of

this literary genre. In general, fairy tales are universal and

ageless, most of the time sharing common features and identical

themes, whereas sometimes they differ profoundly from one

culture to another (Dieckmann 1971). In their many forms,

they have such a profound meaning in our pursuit of happiness

and thus, appeal to individuals of all ages.

Child: care, health and developmentOriginal Article doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01216.x

© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd266

For children, stories represent one of the most important

cultural and social events of their life, functioning as instru-

ments of socialization and acculturation (Zipes 1988). From

this perspective, the meaning of fairy tales and their psychody-

namic potential was first investigated only recently, during the

20th century (Heuscher 1963; Bettelheim 1976). Bettelheim

(1976) suggests that children’s literature stimulates mind and

personality development, providing young readers with the

mechanisms of coping with their inner problems, life’s stresses

and anxieties. Through mixing facts with fiction, fairy tales

promote children’s initiative and capacity for autonomy, in a

more effective manner than everyday life experience itself

(Rustin & Rustin 2003). We could compare fairy tales to com-

passes, which provide road maps to help children find their

pathway to love, power and privilege, while at the same time

pointing the way back to safety and serenity of their home. How

this happens, how children develop their inner mechanism of

coherently integrating events and justifying the plot of the story

measuring it to their set of moral values, is a very interesting

subject, which Ageliki Nicolopoulou (2008) developed.

Apart from the important positive effect of fairy tales in

children’s normal development, as presented in the above men-

tioned bibliography, storytelling has also been used as a thera-

peutic tool in a wide spectrum of physical and mental diseases

in children and adolescents (Fosson & Husband 1984; Freeman

1991; Krietemeyer & Heiney 1992; Stevens-Guille & Boersma

1992; Arad 2004; Konz 2006). Through the power of symbolism

and metaphor, both traditional fairy tales and modern chil-

dren’s literature creations have been widely used in psycho-

therapy of children with mental health problems (Dieckmann

1997; Noctor 2006). Both medical practitioners and parents use

fairy tales as scientific tools in order to support children, while

storytelling is also widely used as a diagnostic utensil in devel-

opmental problems (Mazzeschi et al. 2001) and as an educa-

tional instrument for nursing students (Crawley 2009).

In the present study, we investigate current trends regarding

the use of fairy tales, parents’ opinions and children’s habits,

as well as the way all these are formed through modern family

relationships and lifestyle. Although the role of fairy tales in

various medical conditions has been extensively explored, few

studies have investigated their role in normal children, and

none, to our knowledge, has done it using qualitative methods.

Additionally, the use of qualitative methods has the advantage

of unravelling and presenting current trends and general

tendencies, in order to guide paediatricians and other profes-

sionals on child care, in relation to the use of fairy tales

and the appreciation of their role in children’s normal

development.

Methods

Participants

For the sake of this theoretical research, qualitative methods

were used, as this type of research enables deeper insight into

behaviour and attitudes, intending to uncover the range of

views and generate theory (Fielding 1992; Pope et al. 2000; Pope

& Mays 2006).

This was achieved through a combination of observation and

exploration of the ways in which people interpret the impact of

fairy tales in normal children’s development. The present

descriptive qualitative research took place at Kos, an island in the

south-eastern part of Greece, between July 2007 and February

2008. The participants were parents of healthy children between

3 and 5 years of age. They were recruited either from the outpa-

tient clinic of Department of Paediatrics at Kos General Hospital

or from public and private day nurseries and kindergartens of the

island. Recruitment covering letters and information sheet,

explaining the purpose of the study, were distributed to eligible

subjects by clinic and school personnel. Those parents willing to

take part were contacted by a member of the research team by

telephone, in order to arrange an appointment for the interview.

A total of 548 couples were initially approached with an invita-

tion to take part in the research. Seventy-eight refused because of

their restrained time schedule (14% non-participation ratio).

From the 470 couples that finally took part in the study, there

were no further dropouts.

Data collection

Parents who gave informed consent for their participation in

the study completed a demographic questionnaire, providing

general information concerning the age and gender of the child,

age of parents, their educational level and occupation. Three of

the authors (P. T., S. P. and M. O.) conducted interviews follow-

ing a semi-structured guide with open-ended trigger questions

(Table 1). In order to establish a common definition of what

constitutes a fairy tale, researchers took into account the differ-

ent scientific approaches to the term ‘fairy tale’, as well as the fact

that the research took place in a Greek island community, which

has been influenced by modernity. Reviewing the literature,

researchers bore in mind that a fairy tale is a story (between

fable and literature) with some constant traits: (i) a distant

(without chronology) past; (ii) the storyteller (whose personal-

ity plays a vital role in the children taking in the plot); (iii) a

clear start and a clear ending; and (iv) heroes and villains with

powerful characters (Bettelheim 1976; Megas 1994). That is

Fairy tales: a timeless value 267

© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Child: care, health and development, 38, 2, 266–272

why, it was explained from the beginning to parents that by the

term ‘fairy tales’ the researchers refer to classic and modern

children’s literature stories. Interacting with the parents

expanded this spectrum to: western fairy tales, folk Greek lore

and ancient Greek fables and stories out of Greek and universal

children’s literature. The contact invariably started with the

question ‘Do you believe in the power of fairy tales?’, aiming to

create a friendly environment and stimulate discussion. The

major issues covered in all conversations included parents’

opinions in relation to the use of storytelling, children’s habits

and preferences, as well as general topics related to the function

of the family and modern lifestyle trends. All interviews were

carried out at the participants’ homes, lasting 35 to 45 min.

Dialogues were audio-recorded with the permission of all par-

ticipants and fully transcribed to written manuscript.

Data analysis

Thematic analysis of written transcripts took place during and

after the period of data collection through interviews. Following

a number of steps, two members of the research group (D. C.

and S. P. B.) evaluated data using the content analysis method

(Pope et al. 2000), where sentences and phrases were used as

analysis units. In brief, the two researchers read independently

all manuscripts and categorized them into similar subject areas.

Distinctive themes and recurrent patterns were coded, and

codes were placed in the margin of pages next to sentences and

phrases. Coding similarities and differences were discussed until

mutual agreement was reached. The results were discussed by all

members of the research team in order to achieve the final

matching and validity of categories. Data saturation was con-

sidered to have been reached when no new findings were iden-

tified from manuscripts. Analysis of data was carried out

manually and no software analysis package was used.

Results

Participants’ characteristics

The mean age of children whose parents participated in this

study was 4 years. Within this population, 51.8% were boys and

48.2% were girls. The mean age of mothers was 33.6 years,

whereas for fathers it was 37.7 years. Forty-eight per cent of

interviewees had graduated from high school, and 38.4% held

university degrees. Kos is a famous holiday destination, and

because of its touristic development, 20% of interviewees were

hoteliers, while 18% were freelancers, working in their personal

business.

Findings

The results of this study are distributed in three main

categories, as:

1 general topics about fairy tales related to family lifestyle

trends;

2 parents’ opinion in relation to the use and usefulness of fairy

tales;

3 children’s habits, attitude and preferences regarding fairy

tales.

The majority of respondents explicitly stated their belief in

the power of fairy tales. According to one mother:

. . . Many times while reading a fairy tale to my daughter,

I soon find myself engrossed in a series of imaginary

adventures involving charming kings, beautiful prin-

cesses and wicked witches . . .

General topics about fairy tales related to familylifestyle trends

In the study, 90.8% of parents reported that their children are

separated from them during morning hours, whereas few of

them (6.2%) spend their afternoon away from home as well.

According to interviewees, only a small number of children

(2.4%) seem to be inseparable from at least one of their parents,

Table 1. Semi-structured interview guide

1. Do you believe in the power of fairy tales?2. How much time does your child spend away from you?3. Who is with your child during that time?4. How often does your child listen to fairy tales?5. Who is usually playing the role of the storyteller?6. What method do you employ in order to tell a fairy tale?7. Do you prefer reading or narration? Please justify your answer.8. Your selections of fairy tales are based on which criteria?9. What kind of fairy tales does your child listen to?

10. What kind of fairy tales does your child prefer?11. What’s your child’s favourite fairy tale?12. Do you have a specific hour for storytelling?13. Do you tell stories based on a specific schedule?14. What do you think is the main purpose of a fairy tale?15. Does your child seem pleased when you are reading a fairy tale? If so,

does he/she have a specific way of sharing his/her feelings?16. What does your child think about villains?17. What does your child feel when the villain is punished?18. Do you consider fairy tales instructive? Justify your answer.19. In what way do fairy tales affect your child?20. When you were children, have you been listening to fairy tales?

268 P. Tsitsani et al.


usually the mother. Most of children (89.8%) attend day nurs-

eries or kindergartens and one-fourth regularly spend time with

their grandparents. Concerning storytelling, one-third of chil-

dren listen to fairy tales on a daily basis, while the vast majority

of parents (95.1%) declared that their children read fairy tales at

least once a week. The role of reader/narrator is assumed by

parents (84.3%), nursery governesses (54.2%), audio-visual

material (39.3%) and grandparents (31.6%). Some children

also listen to fairy tales from their older brothers (10.5%), other

relatives and friends (3.2%).

Parents’ opinion in relation to the use and usefulness offairy tales

The majority of respondents (71%) usually prefer reading,

while narration and audio-visual material occupy the second

and third place in their preferences; nevertheless, reading and

narration are equally considered constructive forms of story-

telling. A summary of reasons for the use of either narration or

reading emerging from the interviews is provided in Table 2.

Generally speaking, many parents who chose reading believed

that colourful images of books trigger their children’s imagina-

tion, while those who preferred narration suggested that it pro-

motes mental development through improvisation and active

participation of their child in the whole process. Concerning

criteria for selecting a fairy tale, parents varied in their opinions.

Many (65.9%) highlighted the importance of the theme of fairy

tales, while a frequently mentioned criterion was the preference

of their child. One-fourth of parents stated that book illustra-

tion impacts on their choices, whereas a small group of

interviewees (2.3%) preferred low-cost books. Almost half of

responders (44.5%) declared that their children listen to fairy

tales following a specific time schedule, although significant per

cent (30%) read stories based on their children’s demand.

The importance of fairy tales in children’s lives is depicted

upon the various roles that storytelling plays, which are summa-

rized in Table 3. According to this research, 66.4% of parents use

fairy tales to set examples for their children, 50% in order to

soothe their anxieties usually at bedtime,while the deprivation of

storytelling is employed as means of punishment by several

couples (15%). All participants agreed that fairy tales represent

‘instructive tools’ and identified the positive effect of storytelling

in their children’s life. While the majority of responders were

listening to fairy tales on a daily basis during their childhood

(79.5%), they admitted that as parents they dedicate less time

than they would actually want, in telling stories to their children.

Children’s habits, attitude and preferences related tofairy tales

Concerning children’s preferences, 80.6% of parents reported

that their children choose classic fairy tales over modern ones,

with Little Red Riding Hood accorded a far precedent position

Table 2. Reasons justifying the choice between narration and reading

Choice Examples of quotations from respondents

Narration ‘. . . Narration enables your mind to create its own pictures. Itis more creative to use your imagination and throughimprovisation promotes mental development . . .’

‘. . . My son loves it. He is actively participating in the plot ofthe story . . .’

‘. . . I personally prefer narration. It is amazing to use yourown skills to create a story . . . This makes the wholeprocess more personal . . .’

‘. . . We believe that narration is more amusing, both for usand our daughter . . .’

‘. . . Definitely narration. You can improvise and create a storywherever and whenever you want . . .’

‘. . . It costs nothing . . .’Reading ‘Reading of course. It is the only way to cultivate a passion

for words and teach your child to love books . . .’‘. . . Maria is thrilled to see all this colourful pictures. It is the

best way to draw her attention . . .’‘. . . It is actually bizarre, but although our son does not read,

he seems to expect what is going to happen. Readinghelps him follow the plot . . .’

‘. . . It is easier for me. I can read but I can not be HansChristian Andersen . . .’

Table 3. Roles of fairy tales in children’s life

Role Examples of quotations from respondents

Instructive ‘. . . I believe that fairy tales help him to realize who he is andwhat he is capable of . . .’

‘. . . She seems to realize that even in fairy tales, heroes mustfight to get what they want . . .’

‘. . . While narrating, I always incorporate ideas worthy ofemulation . . .’

Relaxing ‘. . . Each night she lies in her bed, cuddling her favourite toyand listens to the stories of fairies, until she falls asleep . . .’

‘. . . There is no better way to put her back to sleep after anightmare . . .’

Exemplary ‘. . . When it’s impossible to persuade him do something, myfriend Peter Pan can always do that . . .’

‘. . . When we tell them that there is no fairy tale for tonight,they always understand that they have done somethingbad . . .’

‘. . . If you are naughty the big bad wolf is going to eatyou . . .’

‘. . . Within fairy tales she finds a moral corrective to everydaylife. You see, all these stories represent a world in whichthe good is consistently rewarded and bad is consistentlypunished . . .’



over other famous stories. Almost half of participants recog-

nized that they usually choose the stories their children listen to;

this fact was clearly depicted in the words of one mother who

quoted ‘. . . I know what is the best for my child . . .’ . Almost all

children ask for fairy tales on a daily basis, while half of them

prefer to hear the same story repeated several times. All partici-

pants acknowledged the fact that their children are amused and

positively affected by fairy tales. The basic way for children to

share their enthusiasm for fairy tales is to speak about their

beloved characters and narrate parts of their favourite story

while they are engaged in other activities (90%). Following sto-

rytelling with devotion, participating actively and correcting

mistakes of parents while reading their favourite fairy tales, are

frequently mentioned patterns used by children in order to

express excitement. Concerning the villains of fairy tales, most

of children do not seem afraid of them but are instead satisfied

or relieved when they are punished; nevertheless, 30.4% of

parents stated that their children show sympathy for the even-

tual fate of wicked characters. Finally, 15.2% of parents moti-

vated by concern for their children claimed that the cruel

punishment of evil characters created feelings of fear to their

children. No differences were observed concerning children’s

choices or preferences in any question, in relation to gender.

Discussion

This study offers a qualitative account of current trends regard-

ing fairy tales and highlights their great significance in chil-

dren’s life. Although few scientists argue whether traditional

fairy tales still have any value or interest for modern children,

most researchers acknowledge that storytelling provides not

only entertainment, but also a creative way to help children

form a clear picture of themselves in order to be able to under-

stand others and develop meaningful relationships with them

(Noctor 2006).

The findings from this study support a dual notion: (i) that

fairy tales are of great importance in a child’s life and (ii) that

most parents wholeheartedly share this perception.This is clearly

depicted by the fact that the majority of parents read fairy tales to

their children at least once a week, while an important per cent of

25% chooses to narrate stories on a daily basis. Regarding story-

telling, parents, although separated daily from their children for

several hours, still play the central role, while grandparents seem

to be less involved in the process. Grandmothers have tradition-

ally been the main storytellers, a fact that was often captured in

the illustrations of fairy tale books (Macnab & Langlois 2006).

Despite the reluctance of some parents, almost 40% of them

seem to use audio-visual material, mostly because today’s gen-

eration of children is accustomed to multimedia-rich environ-

ments.The advancing technology affected literature and with the

rise of the cinema, the fairy tale film became one of the most

popular cultural commodities worldwide (Zipes 1997). Nowa-

days,children are continually exposed to stories through reading,

but fairy tale films seem to take precedence over literature,

especially through television (Zipes 1997).

Concerning narration and reading, the majority of inter-

viewees considered them equally important, although most of

parents preferred reading. The richness of the language and the

enthusiasm of the reader are of great importance, while the

method of storytelling does not affect any of these factors (High

et al. 2000). Parents are now ‘grown-ups’, and through storytell-

ing, they rediscover hidden aspects and qualities of themselves.

Fairy tales hold the key to their forgotten world of truth and

innocence: ‘I want to be what I used to be, when I was like

you . . . Most of all, I want to relearn how to laugh . . .’ (Once

upon a time, a poem by Gabriel Okara).

In relation to the purpose of storytelling, most parents put

emphasis on the use of stories as instructive tools. This is in

agreement with the notion that the main purpose of the tale

from the beginning was to instruct, as fairy tales were intended

to provide models of behaviour and implicit rules of pedagogi-

zation for the rearing of children (Zipes 1988). Concerning their

exemplary role, it is widely accepted that when a story includes

a character that readers can relate to or admire, then the

message communicated from the writer and the parent can be

easily understood by the child (Fosson & Husband 1984).

Finally, fairy tales are known for their ‘bedtime manner’ for

centuries, and it is not surprising that many parents use them in

order to relax and help their children deal with separation

anxiety, which is at its peak before sleep (Lubetsky 1989).

Our results demonstrate that children prefer classic fairy tales

over modern ones. Little Red Riding Hood was the favourite

fairy tale in this study, although this particular story was dem-

onstrated to appeal to school-aged children in previous studies

(Lubetsky 1989). In addition, a rather unexpected result of this

research was that no differences were found concerning the

preferences of children in relation to gender, something that

probably reflects a new trend, which is also obvious in modern

children’s literature. Modern stories do not use as much stereo-

typed presentations as classic fairy tales do (Turkel 2002).

Despite the fact that fairy tales have the purpose of giving life

to a child’s point of view, parents seem to impose their prefer-

ences in relation to the choice of the theme. Storytelling is an

experience to be shared between parents and children; never-

theless, children should always play the leading role in choosing

a story, as well as in determining the conditions under which



they listen to it in order to gain meaning from it (Lubetsky

1989). All parents agreed on the positive effect of fairy tales and

quoted several behavioural patterns that their children exhibit

in order to share their enthusiasm. A statement captured in

many interviews is that most of children speak about their

favourite heroes showing their admiration. Current literature

critics suggest that the image of a fairy tale hero corresponds to

the image of the world that a child has, and thus fairy tales

represent a literary genre concerned with finding solutions and

developing the ‘self ’ (Hammon 1992). As far as villains are

concerned, the majority of children seem to be relieved when

they are punished. To date, it remains unclear whether fright-

ening stories lead to relief or provoke anxiety to young readers

(Orbach et al. 1993); nevertheless, according to previous

studies, the punishment of evil characters is well tolerated and

does not seem to have a pathological effect upon children

(Trousdale 1989). Fairy tales deal constantly with the struggle

between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. The victory of good is of great impor-

tance so that children can eventually deal with their own fears

(Trousdale 1989). Finally, concerning the sympathy that several

children show towards the villains, this is probably because of

the fact that for many children those characters work as sym-

bolic representations of parts of their selves and represent the

internal struggle between good and evil (Noctor 2006).

A limitation of this study is that the interview methodology

used did not comprise a sample of children, in order to obtain

detailed information on their thoughts and opinions. Thus, we

assumed that parents’ opinions in relation to children’s habits,

attitudes and preferences resonate with their children’s opin-

ions. Another limitation is that results may have been biased by

the fact that most parents that agreed to participate were likely

to be well disposed towards fairy tales.

Conclusions

The findings of this study emphasize the crucial role that sto-

rytelling plays in children’s life, touching upon sensitive chords

of the temper of our times. Modern children must get their

share of fairy tales in order to begin their ‘self-discovery voyage’.

As Bettelheim (1976) excellently stated ‘each fairy tale is a magic

mirror which reflects some aspects of our inner world, and of

the steps required by our evolution from immaturity to matu-

rity. This is one of the manifold truths revealed by fairy tales,

which can guide our lives; it is a truth as valid today as it was

once upon a time’. Fundamental universal values and principles,

such as courage, bravery, honesty and sincerity, can find,

through storytelling, a safe conduct to children’s souls, thus

influencing their future behaviour and their way of life.

Key messages

• Fairy tales and family bonding.

• Personality building and behavioral education through

storytelling.

• Self-recognition prototypes in fairy tales.

• Values and principles find, through storytelling, a safe

conduct to children’s souls.

• Fairy tales are a timeless value.

Conflict of interests

The authors state no conflict of interests.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the help of clinic and

school personnel and thank all the participating families.

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