Believing in Fairies

[Icenii]

DD just turned 9 and massively believes in magical beings still. She is very into fairies and had some fairy related items for her birthday. DH had also made her a detector out of a raspberry PI.

On her birthday, one of her closest friends told her fairies were for kids and her detector was just a stupid toy, and they didn't exist (year four friendships is a whole other thread; they seem very troublesome).

I knew school friends were likely to tell her etc. DD still believes but I'm trying to think what we can gently push her towards. She loves stars and space and I'm thinking of getting a few items for Christmas. I think it links into magical thinking. She is full of big ideas, imagination and possibilities. I'd like her not to lose this. Any ideas?

@Icenii

So when the house alarm sensor detects movement, it will change the fairy dector status after a certain time gap. Sounds boring, but it's good!

Sounds like an amazing toy!

He'd make a fortune selling that!

@Icenii

I love fantasy and was very big into celtic stories, pagan and wiccan in my teens. I still think nature is magical! Thank you for the ideas. She is desperate to watch the hobbit but I think she'll be scared. Book is an idea.

There's an animated version of Lord of the Rings - that might be more child friendly? (I've not watched).

And agree with poster above who talked about BFG/kids' imagination. This (screenshot below) is one of my favourite ever anecdotes. It's from a guy who was one of the Disney Channel's youngest ever showrunners, who created and was in charge of an animated show called Gravity Falls. I hope I have the chance to do something like this for my DS some day.

Full interview is here: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/arts/television/alex-hirsch-talks-about-gravity-falls.html

I am just about to buy Fabled Beast: First Aid by Lari Don for fairies to read to my dd. She has loads of good books. Might get the Loch Ness Monster one too.

I remember when DD was 9, she still firmly believed in fairies. One girl in her class came up to her and said sneeringly "Is it true you believe in fairies?" in front of of her friends. DD said "Yes, don't you?" The girl laughed "No!" So DD said calmly: " A fairy just died because you said that..." The girl stared at her, looked annoyed, but walked away. She still remembers it, not sure the other girl does!

If she's interested in fairies she might like the Thirteen Treasures series by Michelle Harrison depending on how mature she is. They might be a bit too old for her but I think I enjoyed them at her age.

Thank you all. Thought MN was going to say she was much too old.

She's taken her flower fairy poem book into school today, and later we'll do some research on the Christmas star and the solstice, and see if we can prepare to look out for the stars.

She got these for her birthday and they are so beautiful, even I can't stop looking at them (if anyone else has a fairy believing child).

www.amazon.co.uk/Flower-Fairies-One-Hundred-Postcards/dp/0723268428?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I'd definitely steer her towards fantasy books. At her age I read The Hobbit. I also enjoyed Alan Garner's books. They're fantasy for children. I remember The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. Obviously Harry Potter is a good choice as well. You could also encourage her to write her own fairy stories.
Or would she be interested in ghosts and similar? You could turn her detector into a ghost hunter!

I too was really into fairies at that age. How refreshing to hear that young people still are instead of going boss-eyed at screens shooting people!

I think your dh’s fairy detector thing sounds utterly brilliant! Dragons Den for him!!

My painfully shy DD played with toys that a couple of her classmates decided were “babyish”. Until one of the “scary” Y8 boys decided very publicly (well, if you were Y1 or Y2) that they were “cool” and played with them alongside her. I’m still very grateful to him, and DD and others realised that “says who?” is a fair response. Best lesson in following your own interests.

At your DD's age, I read The Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper and it ignited a life long interest in paganism and Wicca. When she's a bit older she could read Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley which is the best re-telling of the Arthurian legend I have ever read.

DD doesn't yet read long books all the way through alone. She'll start off then won't progress. She prefers to write in bed in notebooks, little poems, stories, observations.

We do read with her each night, and she has the Worst Witch series for her birthday.

Our whole house is automated! Drives me mad!

I'd love to see the Detector your DH made too, I'm sure there's a market for them.

Do you have a Fairy Door in the house or garden?

Faeries are very popular www.pinterest.com/pin/475974254370441670/

When your DD is older, she may be interested in the Brian Froud Faeries books and Faerie Oracle cards.

I agree with peaceanddove's suggestion for when she's older, MZB's The Mists of Avalon is a fabulous book.

Is the Dark Crystal film the correct age bracket for her? www.darkcrystal.com/

My mum swears blind she saw fairies when she was a child, she is 83 now and still says she saw them.

I swear blind with a straight face that I still believe in Santa to my two boys. They no longer do, but I inform them it's a personal choice.

Smiler1972

What do you mean fairies don't exist?

Exactly this

When we moved house the first thing I did was buy a fairy door for one of trees in the garden.

This is a lovely book by the late Terry Jones.

www.goodreads.com/book/show/227570.Lady_Cottington_s_Pressed_Fairy_Book

NB: No fairies were harmed in the "pressing".