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| |    The Role of Fantasy in the Lives of Children by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. A wardrobe that serves as a portal to a magical world. A war in Middle Earth for possession of an all-powerful ring. And an academy full of young wizards who ride their souped-up broomsticks in pursuit of a winged, golden ball. From the Chronicles of Narnia, to The Lord of the Rings trilogy to the Harry Potter series, fantasy holds a special place in children's literature-and in their hearts and minds as well. Children start out as realists Even though the roots of fantasy stretch back into early childhood, children begin life as realists. Infants only view objects for what they are: a block is a block, a stick is a stick. Give a one-year-old a telephone and he might babble into it, but he won't talk into a toy car or a shoe. It's only later, between about 18 and 24 months, that children start to understand symbolism--that is, that one thing can stand for something else. Symbolic thinking sparks an explosion of language development as children realize that every object and action is connected to a word or phrase. With the power of symbolism, two-year-olds become magicians. They now have the freedom to turn a wooden block into a piece of cake, or a stick into an airplane. With a piece of cloth or a hat, they can transform themselves at will. But even then, most of their play is all about reality. They play "house" or "family." The roles--mother, father, baby--are taken straight from real life. The action recreates everyday events, such as cooking and eating, going to work or school, and bedtime. There is little about this play that is fantastical. Gradually, though, children lose interest with these familiar themes, and they begin to widen their selection of roles. Now they are astronauts, explorers, and superheroes. Characters from fairy tales, storybooks, movies, or television start showing up in their play. The plots become more complicated, and the themes often revolve around "good guys" and "bad guys," and around power. Young children know that they have very little real-life power. Fantasy play gives them a chance to conjure up a world in which they can control the outcome of events. Consider the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, in which two powerless children use their brains to defeat an evil witch and regain their father's love. The same theme appears in other classic fantasies: little Frodo Baggins defeating the Dark Lord in The Lord of the Rings, and young Luke Skywalker taking on Darth Vader in Star Wars. All of these stories reflect the struggle that all children face, to feel powerful in a big, often scary world. So, fantasy speaks to us on a very basic level, about what it means to become powerful, that is, to grow up. More than make-believe Of course, children don't turn to fantasy stories just because of a psychological need. They love them--as do adults--because they are exciting, new, and full of wonder. The more flying carpets, magical genies, and fabulous palaces, the better! The fantasy writer is free to bend or even break all of the laws of nature. All, that is, except the laws of human nature. Be they dragon, ghoul, witch, or talking bear, the characters have to feel love, jealousy, greed, friendship, and fear. Fantasies are stories dressed up in magic and gold, but at their heart, they are stories about beings who are just like us. Books vs. movies So, a good fantasy teaches children while it entertains them. Fantasies in book and story form (as opposed to video) have a special ability to stretch and exercise the imagination, because they are limited in what they can show. No one really knows exactly how Aslan, the magical lion from Narnia, looks. Harry Potter fans know a lot about Hogwarts, the venerable school for wizards, but they are free to fill in the details of its corridors and towers to suit their own fancy. The words in a book can only take a child so far; his own imagination has to carry him from there. Videos and movies give children more, of course: more details, more specifics. But ironically, by spelling out how everything looks and sounds, they make it harder for children to build their own fantasies using the work of fiction as a base. In the end, movies and videos often give children less of what they need to take away from an encounter with fantasy, which is the power to let their own imaginations take flight. Click here to join the discussion on Reading and Your Child
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