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Reality vs Fantasy
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This is going to sound awful but I’ll just say it. Hopefully someone will understand and have patience and grace with me:) I’ve never been big on reading literature (stories, fictional). I love to read. I read a lot but its always the Bible (yes, I know the Bible is literature) or books written to understand the Bible. I like to deal with reality and I’m not a big dreamer. I think in black and white. Not that that is good…just me. I am really trying to understand the importance of teaching/reading literature so that I can do it well. As, John Calvin wrote, “All truth is from God, and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it, for it has come from God”. Anyways, to introduce fantasy, myths, fairy tales and Shakespeare is a big change in my way of thinking. My concern for my kids is that they will want fantasy MORE than REAL life. That sounds dumb even writing it but that’s my struggle. I think its important to deal with whats real even if its really hard or unpleasant. Also, it sometimes takes me a lot of concentration and discipline to understand certain literature and really understand whats going on so how do I teach my kids when I don’t fully know whats going on (for example, Shakespeare). Is the content in some literature inappropriate for younger kids? Thanks and hopefully someone can relate and clarify.
It doesn’t sound awful at all!!! I’ll start by saying that I enjoy reading fictional literature, both for myself and to my children. I have been amazed at what they pick out of those stories that relates to our everyday, real life! The connections they form are enlightening and often times surprise me in a delightful way.
My husband is very concerned with introducing the concept of fantasy to our children. Together we recently listened to a podcast from the Read-Aloud Revival (#41, Navigating Fantasy: A Guide for Christian Parents) and it was very interesting and helpful!
Keep in mind that you know your children best! While some of the content in literature can be inappropriate for younger children, there are numerous beautiful and worthy stories! Our family has found joy in reading many of the SCM literature recommendations (The Trumpet of the Swan, Charlotte’s Web, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Railway Children) as well as other books such as A Nest for Celeste, The Children of Noisy Village, The Moffats, The Family Under the Bridge, and The Wheel on the School.
I would encourage you to listen to that podcast episode and pick one or two children’s books to read for yourself, to get an idea if it is something you would like to share with your children. I have been able to pre-read a lot of books by finding them as audiobooks! The Read-Aloud Revival website has a link to a page full of great Audible deals.
You may find “The Eternal Argument” by Robin Finley (of Analytical Grammar and Beyond the Book Report, which SCM recommends) to be very helpful.
Here is a review by Cathy Duffy:
Children naturally are drawn towards fantasy and imagination. This is how God made them. Every time a child plays make believe, they are engaging in fantasy. There is no harm in it. It’s a natural stage of child development. It’s also very healthy. Children who are deprived of the ability to do this, can end up with emotional problems later in life, because to a child it is the fantasy, myth, tales etc… that often enable them to be able to cope with the realities of life. You are a grown adult, it is harmful for you to expect a child to be able to cope with the realities of life in the same way you do, without giving them appropriate tools to do so. And for children, often these tools come in the way of other stories etc… Storytelling – fables, myths, tales, go back to the beginning of time, throughout all cultures, all religions. They are one of the many important threads in the tapestry of life.
You might also want to consider that some day, if you want them to go to university or college, they are going to have to read literature. That’s just all there is to it. Far better to start exposing them to it now, so that you can guide them in seeing the truth and goodness and beauty that can be hidden in the works of fantasy and fiction. Also, it will give your children another tool in being able to relate to other children.
Now, please don’t take this the wrong way, but you sound like an extremely literal person, probably more so than is typical. Are you by any chance on the spectrum? I only ask because that would explain your black and white thinking, your “fixation” perhaps on a certain style of writing/literature, your challenge in understanding context and meaning of other types of literature, the emotional impact of other forms of literature etc… Or, I may be off base, but did you have a Fundamentalist upbringing?
I’m only asking as that may give some insight as to where you are coming from, and perhaps we could be a little more specific in certain books to help you expand your thinking, and in choosing books that might be beneficial not only for your children, but also fit with the challenges or value background, you are coming from.
I believe that fiction and fantasy can be very important to the development of our children’s imaginations. Imagination, in my view, is the beginning of all real learning. It is the imagination that causes people to go out and innovate or create. It is one of the things that God gave us that separates us from the animals, our ability to create or imagine something that is yet to exist. I recently read a book call The Global Achievement Gap. In it the author has interviewed many high powered business leaders and asked what they are looking for in potential employees. Based on what they say, he ends up with a list of “Seven Survival Skills” that are necessary to succeed in todays job market. Two of them are Innovative/Entrepreneurialism, and Curiosity/Imagination.
C.S. Lewis says “The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by ‘the veil of familiarity.’ The child enjoys his cold meat, otherwise dull to him, by pretending it is buffalo, just killed with his own bow and arrow. And the child is wise. The real meat comes back to him more savory for having been dipped in a story…by putting bread, gold, horse, apple, or the very roads into a myth, we do not retreat from reality: we rediscover it.”
and
“Hence the uneasiness which they arouse in those who, for whatever reason, wish to keep us wholly imprisoned in the immediate conflict. That perhaps is why people are so ready with the charge of “escape.” I never fully understood it till my friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, “What class of men would you expect to be most preoccupied with, and hostile to, the idea of escape?” and gave the obvious answer: jailers.”
As adults I think we need to be careful not to be “jailers” or limit our children. As a kid I used to love fiction, then I grew up and had kids. I only read for information for quite some time (partly out of necessity) . As my children have grown and I have read aloud more and more fiction to them. I have started to enjoy reading fiction for myself again. I believe it has ignited more of my creativity. I look for way to creatively express myself.
Yes ,your child might get caught up in fantasy world for a while, but in the end I believe it will help them thrive in the real world.
Also, yes, there is inappropriate content in some literature; we do need to be discerning. However, there is a lot of great literature out there to choose from.
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