Fairy tales and children’s emotional development – An exploration of the intersubjective and interaffective field of fairy tales
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/pl.v43i2.137304Keywords:
Fairy tales, developmental psychology, intersubjectivity, interaffectivity, emotional developmentAbstract
The paper investigates the developmental importance of children’s encounters
with fairy tales by exploring the emotionally laden experiences in children’s
encounters with fairy tales. The empirical basis of the article is an observational study of the telling of a fairy tale. The theoretical perspective
is the concepts of intersubjectivity and interaffectivity, and the methodology
is psychodynamic infant observation. The investigation shows that telling
the fairy tale produces an intersubjective field in which opportunities for
different emotional experiences are offered to the children. Different children
are attracted to different aspects of the fairy tale. Some feel drawn to
the dangerous and violent aspects of the story, and some are attracted to
scenes that provide experiences of beauty and elegance or a sensuous experience
of the body. I conclude that fairy tales and other kinds of cultural
experiences are essential parts of caring for children’s developmental needs
in daycare.
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