One of the recurring themes in fairy tales is “discernment.” Take the separation of the “lentils from the ashes,” in Cinderella– a theme that is repeated in other fairy tales in one way or another. When children are told these stories, they internalize the meaning. This becomes medicine in their lives as they enter the world with all of its inbuilt challenges and terrors. If we wish to truly give our children a “leg up” in the world we will feed them a diet of traditional fairy tales that we ourselves have reflected upon and told (or read) with our full presence.

Pam McDowell Saylor