Research shows that people who care about others and neglect themselves are more likely to become anxious and depressed. Self-sacrifice is not sustainable, and it isn’t healthy either. for a child to take selfishly, and that adults should give until it hurts - and keep giving until they literally have nothing left to offer. But if you assume the story is about generosity, it’s easy to learn the wrong lessons: that it’s O.K. To some readers, the tree’s act of sacrifice seems noble, like the unconditional love a parent gives to a child. It’s a book about self-sacrifice - and those are two very different things. But here’s the thing: It’s not really about generosity. If you ask parents to think of a children’s book about generosity, “The Giving Tree” is usually the first - and often the only - one they can name. Despite being poignant and beautifully written, it was kind of depressing. It wasn’t the warm, fuzzy, heartwarming story we thought we remembered.
In the end, the tree has nothing left to give and is reduced to a stump. He takes her apples and sells them for personal profit, removes her branches so he can build a house, and chops down her trunk so he can build a boat and sail away. As he grows up, he visits her repeatedly. If you’re rusty on the story, it’s about a boy who loves a tree. But when we read it, something felt wrong.
By the time our second and third children arrived, we were proud owners of multiple copies of “The Giving Tree.” The Shel Silverstein book is a classic, and we were excited to share it with our kids - we thought it would be like revisiting an old friend from our own childhoods. We received seven copies of “Goodnight Moon” alone.
Like many new parents, when our first child was born, we were delighted to receive gift boxes of tiny pajama sets, monogrammed baby blankets, and lots and lots of children’s books. This story was originally published on Oct.
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