American Mythology: What's Under YOUR Bed?

Why, hello, handsome~
Image Source

BACKGROUND INFO :

Although I'm sure the more accurate opinion of what American Mythology is, is the fact that the American Dream does not actually exist, but instead, provides some form of comfort and hope for citizens. Despite this assumption, I find the concept of abusing fear and innocence to get people - particularly children - to learn lessons to be far more interesting. Taking the words American Mythology literally.
Like dark American folklore.
But for children.

And as for what's under my bed...hm. A suitcase. Probably a missing sock. Maybe a cockroach thanks to these lovely old dormitories on campus. I don't know. I try not to look. Seriously.

(We might as well just watch a clip of a Tim Burton children's movie....nah...okay, fine, what the heck.)

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, 1993
Tim Burton, Director - Danny Elfman, Composer♥

So using fear to teach a lesson....that can't possibly have any negative side effects on children, right?

Right?

Image Source

IS IT FAIR? :

Though I am not a parent, I'm somewhat on the fence about whether it's a smart move on the parents' end to instill fear into their child or children just to make sure that they do not do something wrong. Many parents deem scary stories to be too terrifying for young children, yet children tend to ask for such bedtime stories. But what if the story's evil characters send a bad message to the child? Or they have nightmares at night thinking that a monster beneath the bed will eat them if they leave to go downstairs to eat some cookies. (I wonder if the monster would be nice if the kid wanted to eat some celery instead...hm.)

But some say that these scary tales can serve an important purpose as the children go through key developmental stages. Some scary stories are believed to help children face the fears they already have, rather than instill a new fear in them. Some tales relay emotions of abandonment, negative impulses like greed and envy, and many others.It also helps that these generally are books or oral stories, so they're less graphic than something like a scary movie. And the parents have the power to control what exactly their child can and should read or what they as parents can read to their child.

Despite the benefits of such scary stories, there can also be drastic consequences.Though these famous bedtime stories may have higher moral content than some of the fluffier, more conservative stories some parents choose to read, those particular parents deem the scary stories to be inappropriate to read before bedtime.

Image Source

JESSICA SAYS :

 I don't personally have a huge problem with a parent reading their child a fairy tale, dark or light, at whatever time, but I think some parents tend to abuse the fact that they can instill fear into their child to get them to be obeying fearful creatures is very wrong. I think it's good for children to be able to learn that doing some things some ways can result in a lesson well-learned, but too much of a seemingly-beneficial thing can end up being detrimental to their psychological health.

I'm not sure if there's much else I can say because I cannot speak from a parental sort of perspective here. I think parents should just be cautious with these sorts of stories, but not overly cautious. Can't be too protective as a parent. That in itself can also be quite dangerous.

Image Source

TO THE READERS:

1. What do you think about scary fairy tales being told to children?
2. Do you think some parents abuse the power behind a scary story?
3. What was your favorite scary fairy tale told to you as a child?