After more than 8 years of research and study, psychologist Nena Georgiadou releases her second book "Therapeutic Fairy Tales". Fairy tales are considered one of the best ways to educate children. Through them, we can convey values, cultivate virtues, and enhance the imagination and emotional world of children.

Therapeutic fairy tales are targeted stories in the form of fairy tales, specially written to help children in specific situations. What makes a fairy tale therapeutic? From my years of experience, I can say that any fairy tale can be therapeutic as long as it evokes pleasant emotions and does not contain frightening scenes.

However, don't think that therapeutic fairy tales are only for children with problems. We can narrate them to any child as a means of teaching social intelligence and mental health. Through fairy tales, we teach children about the outside world, which they will inevitably encounter sooner or later and need to be protected from the ugly and unjust aspects of it.

And when we say "outside world", we don't mean something as distant as adulthood. We mean things that are close, like the school environment, the playground, or even family gatherings. Places where, although the child feels protected, they may come into contact with situations that can be very traumatic for their psychology.

There are also inevitable events, such as mourning or other common occurrences in modern life, like divorce, moving, or a natural disaster... All these "changes" are situations that happen in life, and we want children to first know that they can happen, and second, to know how to cope with them, of course within the family context.

A dry piece of advice or simple consolation is not enough for adults, let alone for children who are more vulnerable and sensitive. However, fairy tales have been proven to give us the opportunity to talk about all these potential difficult situations within a safe framework. This helps the child learn about these issues and be appropriately prepared when they occur.

When is the right time to narrate a therapeutic fairy tale? The child's mood plays a role in whether they will listen to a fairy tale or not. Overexcitement, hunger, drowsiness, fatigue, and physical discomfort negatively affect the situation. It is good to always have eye contact with the children and to recognize their mood fluctuations.

We do not insist on them listening by force. When we see they refuse to listen, we leave the narration for another time. What happens if the child is preoccupied with something else while we are telling a fairy tale? There are children who, during the narration, do not make eye contact or are absorbed in another activity, for example, drawing. This doesn't mean they are not listening. Children do not listen only when they are asleep. At other times, they have their antennae up and register almost everything.

How often should we tell a fairy tale? One fairy tale at a time and not two or three. Whether we are narrating to one or more children, it is best to stick to one fairy tale, especially when it is long.

Two or even three consecutive fairy tales do not leave space for the child to think and process what they have heard. Each fairy tale, whether therapeutic or not, must always maintain its primary purpose: to function as a source of comfort and/or evoke a beautiful feeling.

Even if the narration is directed at children who do not have the specific problem that the therapeutic fairy tale addresses, it should leave them with a pleasant feeling at the end. The contribution of fairy tales to children's psychology occurs at slow and steady rates. Even if it seems that the children did not understand the meaning of the fairy tale, there is no need to worry. The stories are registered, and when the time comes, the answers seem to come out of nowhere. Enjoy... because above all, a fairy tale is fun.