When a child is hurt, mommy can kiss it and make it better. Mommies have been doing this for ever, haven't they. The wisdom of mothers is being perhaps proven by studies that show that pain is reduced even when given a placebo. Mothers have known that the placebo effect works and the nocebo effect is real (or have we forgotten that, culturally?) The nocebo effect, opposite of the placebo effect, is why good once-upon-a-time stories have a happy ending. Or maybe they should? Children, for a healthy outlook, need to know that everything, no matter how bad, will be alright. Don't they?
My Pain, My Brain by Melanie Thernstrom 5/14 in the New York Times should be read from the perspective of mothers and children. If done so, it raises some questions mothers should think about. The terror of our times might be similar to bad tales that originated in very very bad times...stories like Hansel and Gretl who become bereft of parents and lose their way back. They stick with horrid staying power while stories like the Ugly Duckling teach patience, endurance and hope for wonderful outcomes.
Given the potential relevance of these studies to age-old mothers' wisdom, should mothers tell their children horror stories with bad endings, just to make them safer? Beware of strangers... Wear a helmet when riding your bike...Don't play in the street... Is this a result of urbanization and population growth? There is more to fear than walking behind a horse? Is this a factor behind the rising use of anti-depressants and the ultra programming of children? With scary stories with gruesome endings, like the story of Natalee Holloway in Aruba cycled on television to attract viewers who become riveted by fear...are we ignoring the studies of Abraham Maslow that show that the basic instinct, foundational to all else, is for security? Or are we being manipulated and falling into a pattern of fear manipulating?
Regardless, the Big Bad Boogieman seems out to get everyone. It it isn't one thing, it's another. If it isn't terrorists, it's a pandemic flu. What an anxious state (or nation) we live in, driven by our times and exacerbated by our media? Have we lost the main ingredient of childhood happiness, innocence? Think about it. The Big Bad Wolf isn't Cinderella.
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