How did the legend of storks come about?

Raising children is indeed a very difficult and exhausting process. As a result, many mothers and fathers have to find creative solutions to the difficulties they face in the process of raising children. One of the most interesting and creative solutions that appeared in the process of education arose a long time ago, it was about newborn babies and storks!

Especially in the Western world, the most popular response from sexually shy parents to the question of where their children come from is: “You were brought by storks.” Storks have long been associated with childbearing, coming to the aid of parents faced with difficult issues. Moreover, according to some scientists, the myth that storks bring newborn babies is still widespread. So how did this interesting legend come about? Let’s look at the details together…

The origins of the legend “the stork brought you” can be traced back to an interesting plot from ancient Greek mythology.

According to mythology, the goddess of childbirth, Hera, turns Gerana into a long-necked crane because of her affair with her husband Zeus. Gerana, who does not want to part with her newborn child, although she has turned into a crane, wraps the child in a blanket and flies away, carrying the child in her beak.

According to many experts, the myth that storks bring newborn babies is mainly based on this story from ancient Greek mythology. However, it is obvious that the legend has undergone significant changes over time. So how did a crane soaring in the sky, carrying its baby in its beak in ancient Greek mythology, turn into a stork?

Storks are associated with family life and childbearing for a variety of reasons.

The most striking of these reasons is that storks live in areas close to humans. Professor Marina Warner of Birkbeck College, University of London said: “Storks have always been associated with family life, as they take care of their babies in nests next to humans.” uses expressions.

Warner claims that storks have turned into heroes who, over time, with their beaks save babies from lakes and swamps, and parents with their presence from difficult questions …

European fairy tales also made a great contribution to the popularization of the myth that storks bring babies to families.

According to experts, the popularization of this legend was primarily facilitated by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “Storks”, first published in the early 19th century. Experts say this tale has achieved great success in a short time, especially in English-speaking societies. Parallel to this, storks are becoming a highly functional tool for shy parents in Victorian England who want to avoid their children’s questions about sex and childbirth.

The myth of babies and storks is still widespread.

So many children, especially in the Western world, today are growing up believing that storks have brought them into their families, at least for a while. There are even families who say that some babies born with a “mole” are actually “stork stings”. According to Spring Chenoa Cooper, associate professor of sexual health at the City University of New York School of Public Health, there’s a very simple reason why the stork myth is still prevalent today.

Cooper said about this:One reason is that many parents still don’t know when and how to talk about science. Many people don’t know how to explain sex to their children.he uses. Today, however, storks are not the only creatures that shy parents help their children get out of their difficult questions.

In the Western world, the narrative that babies “grow up in pumpkin fields” is also quite popular.

Experts believe that this narrative arose from the connection between harvest and fertility.

According to experts, telling children the legend about storks causes certain negative situations.

Some experts say that the “stork brought you” myth, which originated in ancient Greek mythology, can be extremely “confusing” for children today. But the dangers of the legend do not end there.

Spring Chenoa Cooper states that such implicit statements may lead to some misinformation and perceptions about sexuality, which may have negative consequences for sexual health. On the other hand, the stork myth can make it difficult to talk about sexuality and lead to criminal elements such as sexual harassment.

Source: 1