Thaindian News

London, Jan 6 (ANI): British parents have dropped the idea of reading traditional fairytales to their children because they feel the fables are too scary and not politically correct, according to research.
All-time favourites like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella and Rapunzel are no longer being told to kids as caring parents feel that the bedtime stories could emotionally damage kids.
The poll of 3,000 British parents, by TheBabyWebsite.com, found that a third of parents refused to read Little Red Riding Hood because she walks through woods alone and finds her grandmother eaten by a wolf, the study found.
One in 10 said Snow White should be re-named because “the dwarf reference is not PC”, the research revealed.
Rapunzel was considered “too dark” and Cinderella has been dumped amid fears she is treated like a slave and forced to do all the housework, reports the Telegraph.
Sarah Pilkinton, 36, a mother-of-three from Sevenoaks, Kent, told researchers: “I loved the old fairy stories when I was growing up. I still read my children some of the classics like Sleeping Beauty and Goldilocks, but I must admit I”ve not read them The Gingerbread Man or Hansel and Gretel.
“They are both a bit scary and I remember having difficulty sleeping after being read those ones when I was little.”
Many parents said that the stories were no longer appropriate to soothe youngsters before bed, the shocking research found.
It also emerged 65 per cent of parents preferred to read their children happier tales at bedtime, such as the Mr Men, The Gruffalo and Winnie the Pooh.
Top 10 fairy tales Brit parents no longer read:
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Hansel and Gretel
3. Cinderella
4. Little Red Riding Hood
5. The Gingerbread Man
6. Jack and the Beanstalk
7. Sleeping Beauty
8. Beauty and the Beast
9. Goldilocks and the Three Bears
10. The Emperor’’s New Clothes (ANI)