IMAGINARY FIGURES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD
Background
According to, Prentice, Norman. M. (1978) (page 618), ‘Examination of the developmental progression of the child’s belief in the fictional characters was the aim of this study.’ Brain of a child is susceptible to the attractive stories and adventurous imaginations. Fairy tales were a conduits to teach the children the moral lessons of life. These are the learnings that the parents or teachers can impart in the minds of the children. The learnings descending from our ancestors and wise people helps us finding a comfort of happy endings to every story. However, the stories are all about the fictional characters like Santa Clause, Easter Bunnies and The tooth fairies. The background of these characters goes way back in anthology. Christmas is all about Santa Clause. Every child in home wants to keep his or her tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy to come visit. All the children wants the Easter Bunnies to bring eggs.
In this paper, the aim is to understand the psychology of the children and their parents in reenacting the characters of the earlier childhood. Another purpose of this study is to analyze the effects and impact of these character in the lives of children.
Method
Results
The results of the study showed that the children who believe that the Santa Clause is real belong to the age group of four years. The disbelievers of the existence of the character belong to the age group of eight and six years. Children in age group above four years understood that the character that showed up in the Christmas or other festivals were either their parents or some other family members enacting the character. Belief in tooth fairy was more among the age group of six and eight years. Most the parents thought that the introduction and engagement of the fictional characters into their children’s lives was essential for the learning the importance of the history and the festival. Many parents also suggested that through the medium of these characters the awareness among the children about the festival had increased. M. Manosevitz, (1978) (Page 621).
Conclusion
The conclusion suggests that the fictional characters of the childhood are essential for the psychological, social and emotional growth of the children.
Critique
The research methods is authentic and genuine. It is crisp and sharp. Design of the study as a trial and enrollment of the subject is essentially smart. The use of the statistics is also brilliant in this study. These are the strongest points of the study; making it successful. However, the use of the technical interview using jargons with children so young; can be a tedious process. Sometimes the answers of the children are not reliable and may lead to improper results.
References
Prentice, Norman. M. (1978). Imaginary Figures of Early Childhood: Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry,
