I want to talk to parents, grandparents and teachers to let them know how important it is to read fairy tales to their children, grandchildren and pupils. We are holding the light for a lost generation who are becoming increasingly disconnected from their intuition and from nature and their environment.
A child is like sleeping beauty, asleep and waiting for a handsome prince to wake them up. Waking up symbolises our reconnection to a deeper understanding of the joy of life and its true meaning. Original Fairy tales (not the sanitised Disney tales, the re-written ones or the politically correct ones with the anti-hero) introduce children to moral choices. These stories demonstrate that every choice, has a consequence. Fairy tales build confidence and self esteem as the characters struggle against the horrors of their situation to eventually emerge victorious.
We cannot hide our children from the horrors of life, sooner or later they will have to be out in the world and will have to learn to cope with its dangers and disappointments. Let’s help to equip our children and grandchildren , by reading them fairy stories with which they can identify and which will inspire them to be better human beings. This will enable them to face what is to come.
When I met Kevin, he was only four years old, his mother had attended a workshop I was running in the Republic of Ireland to talk about my therapeutic work with children. At the end of the day she approached me for help. A single parent, she was struggling to cope with what she called her ‘unmanageable and hyperactive’ son. She told me that Kevin was a ball of energy who refused to sit still or do as he was told and he had difficulty relating to other children. Apparently, her relationship with Kevin’s father was not good and his visits to see his son were spasmodic and unreliable. Kevin slept in his mother’s bed every night and constantly demanded her time and energy during the day. She told me that she wasn’t coping and felt unable to impose any structure or routine at home.
I agreed to see Kevin and had hired a room in a local hotel for our first session. Arriving for his appointment, like quicksilver, he darted into the room, clutching a small brown bag of toy instruments. His mother’s tension was palpable and in her lilting Irish brogue she continually remonstrated with him with hapless pleas of ‘Don’t be wild now’. Kevin ignored her and inhis excitement, continued to run around the room at great speed. I reassured his mother that all was well and suggested that she went for a cup of tea , quickly ushering her out of the room, with a request to return for Kevin in half an hour.
All children need to play and use their play to make sense of their experiences and to make sense of what is happening around them. Through play, they are able to channel overwhelming feelings and ‘play out’ situations that they feel powerless to resolve.
By offering the child a space and providing a few simple props they are able to create a character for themselves and be in their own fantasy world. This experience gives the child an opportunity to explore what they need to explore in their own way and at their own pace.
The adult’s role is to observe, wait and listen ; to only get involved and take on a role if invited to do so. It is of paramount importance that in the play situation the adult follows the lead of the child and does not try to take the story or the child’s play where they feel it should go, or try and hurry it to a conclusion.
Trust the process because play, if allowed to unfold, will travel at the pace appropriate for the child. If it is not completed in the time allotted, the child is usually happy to carry it over to the next opportunity. This is much better than forcing a conclusion before the story has had time to reach its creative potential.
This is an excerpt from Positive Health Online Issue 179 – February 2011. The full article can be found at: Vocal Toning and Energy Alignment
My interest in the voice and creative expression led to training in Speech and Language Therapy, deepening my understanding of the mechanics of speech, the nature of impairment and its impact on life and relationships. A twenty year struggle with orthodox methods of symptom focused intervention and disillusionment with imposed systems and the medical approach, prompted a shift of focus. I turned my attention from the impairment to the creative, intuitive aspects of the right brain. This approach stimulates and regenerates the central nervous system activating the client’s own self healing mechanism to create dynamic possibilities for healing.
