Can fairy tales be read?

[creative7584]

I am a mother of 5 months old. Can I read fairy tales to my kid? Or should it be a story with only a few lines? She enjoys me reading the stories for 15-20 minutes and then have a nice sleep. Is there any harm if I read big stories?

[laughingwater]

There is no harm at all. If she is interested then do it!

[TheyCan]

At 5 months, I think just hearing you read anything would be of great benefit - and probably the longer the better!  However, I am kind of drawn to the Montessori belief that you should wait until the child is a little bit older to introduce fairy tales.  The thought is that very small kids are trying to learn about the world and it can be confusing if they think animals can talk, etc.  It makes sense to me, so I've put all those books aside for the time being.  They're supposed to very important later on though (learn about morals, hope in a scary world, etc)!   

[kizudo]

Hmmm....in reading TheyCan's comment I decided to take a quick look at my stash of books.  I haven't read my son (21mo) very many fairy tales, but most, I'd say a good 2/3 of the fiction books in my library (I used to teach lower elementary so I have about 3-400 kid books), has talking animals...just 5 minutes ago I read "Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar" - animals talking to other animals in search of the cookies... 

I know very, very little about Montessori.  So, TheyCan, can you clarify to me what they recommend?  Is it only non-fiction that they recommend?  And when do they suggest introducing these types of books?  My son has started pretend play - feeding his stuffed dog ("Bones") and showing it different things around the house ("See toes Bonesy?")...but come to think of it, I don't recall him ever seeing a real dog yet...other than pictures & dvds...  Anyway, I'm rambling...

[TheyCan]

Yes, it's interesting to think about!!  I wouldn't have thought about it before, but it makes sense to me!  All the Montessori books I've read don't say nonfiction - just realistic.  Some following Montessori strictly, don't introduce all the fairy tales until five or six.  I just try to use my judgement.  I've still kept some books, such as The Very Busy Spider, because even though the animals are talking - they still look realistic and it teaches about things they do in real life.

Keep in mind though - one thing that I don't think anyone would argue is that getting your child to love books is the highest prority.  I don't think it'd be terrible to have my son be a bit confused about our world for several years if he had a love for books .     

[joni2009]

Hi,
I don't think that fairy tales can confuse children.Fairy tales are models of relationships between people but situated in animals.It's not confusing for children because the important thing is the lesson they learn from tales.Children need to have magic in their live that stimulates their imagination.When I was a little girl I really loved reading fairy tales.It's to read than watch tv.

[laughingwater]

At what age does Montessori recommend introducing them? I'm interested in learning more about her approach.  I personally don't have any fairy tale books to read to my daughter, but I do have many Dr. Suess books - which have made up creatures, a talking cat in the hat, etc. I really like the rhyming structure of Dr. Suess, it is very catchy, and many good topics and concepts are introduced. I usually read the book to her, for example a book about red, green, and blue dogs driving cars. After the story I then talk about what dogs really do, what colors they really are, and how fun it is to think about them being many different colors and driving cars. And, we see many real dogs that we talk about when we see them.  Now that she is talking and can tell me what she is thinking I have found that she is not confused at all.

[Frukc]

creative7584,
I think, reading of stories is the best you can do for your child in this age. Enjoy the time when she can not crawl away from your reading :D And talking animals are also in almost every nursery rhyme. Dressed, smiling and dancing animals are drawn on clothing etc.

Montessori believed that children do not need playing. She believed that children must live with the real world only. Nowadays we know that playing is necessary for the imagination development. Montessori did not know ewerything.

[TheyCan]

I'm not a Montessori expert or huge supporter by any means - but I have been reading a lot about it lately.  First, one needs to remember that Montessori was designed for the classroom - not home (here enters my issue with Montessori...I'm a fan of being at home with your family...).  Second, ages need to be mentioned with everything.  Once a child reaches a certain age (probably different for every child), Montessori IS a big fan of playing and imagination - fairy tales and all (like I said earlier - great for morals and having hope in our world).  She just found through her studies that very little children have a strong desire to learn the real deal.  They're trying to figure out our world.  I think it's like Doman's whole concept about what a baby does with a toy (it's been quoted on here several times) - we think something's wrong when a baby drops a rattle after 10 seconds - but they've finished learning everything about it.  They stop playing with something once they've mastered it.  He believed that little children are out to learn, not just play.  It's hard to tell a child to imagine that a block is a boat if they don't know even know what a boat is.  Also, they found very young child would much rather help you out in the kitchen than play with a toy kitchen.  Anyway - just what I've read.  I don't have older children to tell of my own experience.  I think I'm just going to keep all this in the back of my mind!

laughingwater - I'm glad you found your child isn't confused by the Dr. Suess books!  I totally agree with the rhyming structure and want to buy them all!  It's great to talk about books afterword in general like your doing as well!

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