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Many Traditional Fairy Tales Could Be Consigned To History

Image by Wokingham Libraries from Pixabay

Research suggests classic stories which have been read to children for generations, could be in danger of becoming a thing of the past, with 41 percent of 18–29-year-olds insisting some of these are inappropriate.

In fact, as many as 90 percent of younger Brits reckon many are old fashioned and outdated, while 89 percent believe they perpetuate outdated gender stereotypes, and 77 percent said many of them were sexist.

46 percent deemed Hansel and Gretel the most inappropriate, followed by Little Red Riding Hood (28 percent) and Rumpelstiltskin (25 percent)

The Snow Queen (13 percent), The Three Little Pigs (12 percent) and Beauty and the Beast (11 percent) were also viewed as having a sinister side, according to the Gen Z’s who took part in the survey.

But the research of Brits of all ages, also revealed the nation’s most loved fairy tales, with Cinderella (37 percent), Sleeping Beauty (32 percent) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (31 percent) emerging as the top nostalgic tales.

Also among the nation’s best loved fairy tales, in the survey by Smart lighting brand Twinkly, was The Little Mermaid (23 percent), originally written by Hans Christian Anderson, Pinocchio (23 percent), Goldilocks and the Three Bears (21 percent), Rapunzel (19 percent) and The Ugly Duckling (19 percent).

To inspire people to recreate their own fairy tale this Christmas, Twinkly has created Twinkly Tales; festive, colourful and magical lighting effects inspired by children’s stories, bringing bright lights and story-telling joy to everyone’s home this Christmas.

Alessio Mancarella, Head of Marketing at Twinkly, commented:
“This research reveals the nation’s best loved fairy tales, from Sleeping Beauty to Snow White and Rapunzel. To make these stories even more magical for children, we wanted to tell these in the best way we know how; through beautiful light displays with our ‘Twinkly Tales’ this festive season.”

One in three of the Britons polled (31 percent) admit that they were shocked to discover the scarier elements - such as the Queen in Snow White wanting to cook and eat Snow White’s organs - of some fairy tale when reading the original stories.

As a result, a quarter (24 percent) worry about their child hearing the original version of a fairy tale and getting scared.

Although a quarter (24 percent) of the parents polled would not read certain fairy tales at bedtime if they thought they were offensive or old fashioned.

Over a third (34 percent) say younger generations are more likely to read modern stories to their children, rather than fairy tales, with a further 35 percent believing that people worry far too much about children being scared of them.

Despite these reservations, almost half of the Brits polled (49 percent) agree that fairy tales are still helpful for teaching children about morals.

86 percent agree that there is something truly magical and fun about fairy tales.