Whatever happened to Aesop's fables?

Whatever happened to Aesop's fables? You remember the Ant and the Grasshopper, The fox and the grapes, The boy who cried wolf, The tortoise and the hare?  Why don't we tell our kids these any more? And why aren't they taught in school?  Why don't we see more cartoons that follow along the lines of the original vice what is socially convenient?  I can not find a copy of Aesop's fables in print at a public library, or on film, that matches what the original source says.

Have stories told to children today become social engineering that make children more dependent on others and less resilient?  Fables and stories such as these been used as tools for millennia to impart important lessons about morals and social interactions.  In fact, children used to be inoculated to the occurrence of death from a young age, because death was a daily occurrence.  Why aren't children allowed to read those stories anymore?  Changes in medical science should not be cause to change this.  If you ask a child to look up from their electronic distraction, would they be able to tell you the name of a fable or moral story?  Do any of them know the origin of 'Ring around the rosie'?  Do they even play it in the school yard or even backyards and parks any more?  I think it is highly unlikely.

I think parents are afraid to let their children grow up these days.  Too often, we depend on others to teach our children how to conduct themselves; how to think about certain topics; what to read.  It's time we, as parents, stop using the excuse of too tired, too busy, too late to direct the development of our children.  It used to be that children prior to the Information Age learned their skill and trade from their parents or entered into apprenticeships.

Although if that were the case, that would mean my oldest daughter should be married off already.

I, for one, do not have time to teach my children all the skills (like mathematics and science, reading and writing, logic and rhetoric) they need day to day; but I know I must make time to mold their character, by engaging them in moral debate, having them study stories in moral and stoic thought.  That is my responsibility as a parent and steward of good citizenship. It's time we help our children develop the character to grow up unafraid; be willing to challenge the status quo, and risk all for what they truly believe. 

How will you help your children grow up today?