For almost 100 years, the name Walt Disney has been so synonymous with animated films, television channels, and child-friendly theme parks, that it’s easy to forget that, at one time, this name referred to an actual person.

He became a beloved animator, producer, director, screenwriter, and voice actor, who brought to life many of our favorite fairy tales written by Andersen, the brothers Grimm, Collodi (Pinocchio) and Dodie Smith (Dalmatians). More than a few of his creations including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy are recognizable global icons. He was completely devoted to providing children worldwide with a multitude of entertaining materials and activities, helping them develop their imagination and enriching their knowledge with numerous facts from history, geography and everyday life.

Walt Disney Studios produced many popular animated movies such as The Lion King,  Bambi,  The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty,  Pocahontas,  Peter Pan,  Aladdin, Robin Hood,  Hercules. They have all been part of our childhood.

Together with these movies we traveled to many wonderful places, learned to be noble and honest, to respect our parents, elders and people different from us, to love our friends and help them in trouble. That’s why Disney “revived” all these stories – to remind us of their morals in order to make us become better people who believe that good always wins over evil.

Today’s children also enjoy watching Disney movies, though they have been criticized by some for carrying subliminal messages that can have negative impact on child’s personality and behavior.

On the other hand, millions of Disney fans and supporters state that children are not watching and experiencing the movies the way adults do. They just enjoy their favourite characters, without seeking hidden messages and symbols. Children do not analyze, they simply believe in magic.

Sad ending of some of the movies has moral influence on kids’ lives, too. Thus, these cartoons remain incredible and inexhaustible source of children’s relaxation, happiness and knowledge.

Here are the 5 life lessons from Disney movies that we should revisit:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

We all know how the evil queen deceased and poisoned Snow White by giving her the apple. The moral of this story is:  Do not talk to strangers and do not receive anything from them. It’s absolutely applicable in today’s modern world, where the poisonous apple stands for drugs, alcohol, nicotine, various diseases and other dangers that children should be aware of. In addition, the evil queen represents vanity whereas Snow White represents the part of the child trying to overcome this unwanted attribute, and the defeat of the evil queen represents the victory of the positive forces of the self over the negative ones.

101 Dalmatians

Whether it’s a book, a TV series or a cartoon, the moral of 101 Dalmatians has remained the same: Animals deserve our deep and abiding love. The story is pretty much familiar – the two Dalmatians have their puppies stolen by the wicked Cruella de Vil and set off on an epic journey across south east England to rescue them, meeting a wide variety of help along the way including dogs, cats, cows, a 2 year old boy and a fragile old man. The world of the animals is perfect and they are all there to help each other. Humans should behave in the same way.

Beauty and the Beast

The moral of the story is not to judge people based on their looks and first impressions. True beauty comes from within, it’s about being kind to others and not only thinking about yourself. The inner beauty of the Beast is uncovered through love, patience, and sacrifice. In addition, Belle’s insatiable appetite for knowledge and her love for books inspire us to learn something new every day and to read more.

Pocahontas  

Fighting for her right to love the man she desired, Pocahontas shows us that true love is color blind and without prejudice. When Pocahontas saved her beloved Captain from her father, the selfless act proved that love transcends all race, religions and family backgrounds. Her dad was touched by her daughter’s love and set the Captain free.

Aladdin

The moral of this story is: “Stop wishing and start doing“. The Universe is not a magic genie. Just wishing, wanting and asking isn’t going to make anything happen. We can attract money, success, and anything we want, but it won’t happen by rubbing a magic lamp. Thus, stop wishing, start doing. We can do it!

We have learned many great things thanks to the magical world of Disney, just like the children all around the world learn nowadays:

• Always remember that you are absolutely unique.
• Never lose that childlike spirit, no matter what age you are, or what your circumstances might be.
• Never stop believing in magic.
• Make new friends and protect true friendships.
• Always learn and discover new things, new horizons, be open and ready for new experiences.
• Follow your heart and listen to your conscience.
• Never let others’ negative thoughts affect your life.
• Never give up on your goals. Do your best and work hard to achieve your dreams and potentials.
• Never lose yourself, and be what you are.

Life can be hard sometimes. We all know that. However, the message Disney sends us is not about despair, it’s that there’s the light at the end of every tunnel. It often appears when we least expect it.

Therefore, big thanks to “the magician” and his animated movies that enabled the truth of life, moral values and messages reach several generations of little unspoiled and noble souls. He taught us that if we know how to dream, we can make all our dreams come true.

Regardless of age, the fact is that most of us will always be craving for Disney magic. As the “man behind the mouse” once said:

Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.

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In primary schools, a large amount of curriculum time is dedicated to storytelling. We spend lots of time exploring and sharing books andwe recount trips and events, encouraging the children to write about what they know and based on real experiences.We also teach children to imagine scenarios, characters and events winding them into a coherent narrative. These tasks of character creation, setting description and plot development become common place in the primary classroom and yet, when I think about it, I realise what a difficult task we ask of them and how amazing and imaginative the fruits of their labours are. Faced with a blank page and charged with “writing a story”, I would undoubtedly struggle. So why is storytelling such an important part of education and child development?

Ben Okri, Birds of Heaven:

It is easy to forget how mysterious and mighty stories are. They do their work in silence, invisibly. They work with all the internal materials of the mind and self. They become part of you while changing you.

Storytelling does not merely equip future Nobel Literature prize-winners but is an integral part of the all-round development of the child. Not only does it develop a child’s listening skills, develop their understanding of other communities through stories about others’ lives but stories are imperative to children developing identity and their understanding of their place in their family, community and the wider world. They are a vehicle for developing their personality and showing it to those around them. Stories are also way for children to work through problems and worries. Research has also shown ‘that those who told and heard stories at home under the age of four were the most likely to have ease and interest in learning to read once they got to school.¹‘

So how can you encourage your child’s storytelling abilities:

• Encourage imaginative play. Through gestures or movements of toys, children are enacting a story however much or little this is verbalised. Encourage them to talk through the sequence of events and model this for them by creating your own scenarios with them.
• Talk with your child. This will not only encourage their general language development and increase their vocabulary but you will prompt and model conversation and storytelling.  Enabling a conversation requires lots of listening from you, the adult. Talking about past and future events also promotes the idea of events happening over a period of time.
• Use sequencing cards for a familiar story. Get children to order and retell a well-known story.
• Read with your child. Your child’s reading ability will not be at the same level as their spoken language so encourage their vocabulary development and understanding of narrative structure by reading them stories. This should not replace their own reading but will provide them with a love of books and understanding of how stories work which will only benefit their reading development. Reading stories together also fuels their imagination and they may take on elements of the story to make up their own such as continuing the adventures of a character or using a similar setting.
• Tell your child stories about their past. Not only will this develop their understanding of stories and narratives but it will provide them with their own narrative within the family. These stories endure to adulthood even if the child was too young to maintain an actual memory of it. Their story within the family becomes constant and consistent which is so important in the development of their identity and children love to be the main character in any story.  Variety in styles and content is important to develop children’s understanding of language and narrative styles. Poetry and rhyme is always popular as children respond well to the rhythm of the language.
• Use prompts. Some children need more stimulation than others to trigger their imagination. Try to provide prompts which access all the senses which will really help their descriptive skills.Think about having a story sack or chest of items to fire the imagination. It’s much easier to imagine a scenario with an old boot in their hands which has perhaps been fished from the sea and bares the etched initials of a notorious pirate. Using dice such as these can also be an excellent way of providing a setting, character or problem to be incorporated into a story.

http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/previews/7426-7450/sb7426-story-settings-dice-nets.html#.UsbMTfRdWmk

The importance of creativity and imagination in child development cannot be understated and this is not just modern thinking. Einstein himself believed so strongly in the education of the imagination and its role in progress that he recommended that children should be told fairy-tales:

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.²

We would love to hear your child’s favourite story and we also would love to read some of their own creative efforts.

1 http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/early-language-literacy/the-emergence-of-storytelling.html
2 http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/9810.Albert_Einstein

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